Red White, Blue Green
by Kali Shima
Summary: Falling in love. Does it happen over time, or is it love at first sight? When a certain green haired girl comes to live at her shrine for a while, Reimu finds that the answer is a little bit of both. This is the start of a new couple's lives in Gensokyo. Reimu X Sanae
1. Chapter 1

"Reimu?"

"Yes, Sanae?"

Reimu Hakurei and Sanae Kochiya were both inside the Hakurei shrine's living room. Reimu was writing out charms on ofuda. Sanae was looking over her shoulder at her as she sat on the veranda facing the outdoors. Outside, the late morning sun shined down on the clean shrine grounds the two mikos had cleaned earlier.

"Am I a bother to you?" Reimu abruptly stopped brushing on one piece of paper.

"What? No. No, you aren't!" Reimu said, a little too fiercely. Sanae nodded, although she looked a little sadder now. She turned away and laid on the veranda. Reimu opened her mouth to speak and closed it, unable to find the right words to say. Her shoulders dropped. With her heart painfully aching, she picked up her brush and began fixing her unfinished ofuda.

For the past two weeks, Sanae had been living with her "to help Reimu return to the ways of a shrine maiden." At least, that was what Sanae yelled when she blew away the front sliding doors with her danmaku. Not that she was wrong. Since there had been no incidents lately, Reimu lazily wasted her days away. She would simply clean the front of the shrine, check the donation box, and then sleep the rest of the day, remembering to cook herself meals in between. But she was even lazy about her laziness. Once, Reimu woke up to realize she was lying face down on the stone path leading to her donation box. When Sanae saw Reimu passed out on her donation box in a surprise visit, it greatly upset her. The next day saw the death of her sliding doors and the green haired miko's new reform regime.

Reimu protested at first, stating that she had put up with the other youkais' antics for a very long time and needed a long deserved break, but Sanae would have none of it. As if she had been planning it from the start, she brought in some of her things from Moriya Shrine and began to live with Reimu. What happened next wasn't what Reimu expected at all.

They did everything together. They swept the front of the shrine, prayed and offered blessings to the shrine's unknown kami together. They cooked, ate, played danmaku, relaxed, and bathed together. The first night, Reimu could hardly sleep with Sanae next to her. The feeling of someone else's warmth and closeness was alien and unnerving, never mind the fact that they were also sleeping in the same futon. Other than returning to Moriya Shrine for a few hours at the end of the first week, Sanae never left her side.

What Reimu found even stranger was that she could have blasted (scratch that, _obliterated_ ) Sanae away in danmaku just for telling her that she wasn't performing her miko duties. She certainly was so; the grounds were swept every day and the donation box was always checked! And she would have. But she didn't…because it was nice. It was something she had never experienced or remembered before in a long time. She was not used living with other people as if they were…a family. Sanae cared for her in a heartwarming and loving way. Not even Yukari or Marisa, on occasion, did a tenth of the things the other armpit shrine maiden did for her. Before she knew it, Reimu began enjoying spending the time with Sanae more and more.

Reimu involuntarily flinched as her mind recalled two nights ago, leading to the unsettling atmosphere today. They were drinking sake with Suika and Marisa, which was the first of two mishaps. Baited by Marisa into having a drinking match with her, she drunk far more than she was used to on a daily basis. And the more she drunk, the more Sanae became radiant. Suika cheered them on as they chugged disk after disk of sake and then bottles of it. Sanae, who became tipsy after her first few drinks, clung to Reimu and cheered her on personally. Bottles began lining up. Unable to finish her fourth bottle, Marisa collapsed in a drunken heap. Suika and Sanae yelled and applauded Reimu as she finished her bottle. With a final gulp, she smacked her lips and slammed the bottle on the table. And then she heard the sounds of sweet and beautiful victory. Reimu blurrily turned and saw Sanae's beaming face very close to hers. She saw Sanae's lips open and close in excitement, not comprehending what the other miko was saying. She felt the weight of Sanae's body rest on hers, warm and inviting. The heat and alcohol went to Reimu's head, and she lost control. It was the second of mishaps. As Suika started to drink from her gourd of never ending sake, Reimu kissed Sanae as her prize.

The kiss lasted only a second. But it felt like an eternity to Reimu. She pulled back, expecting the other girl's elation. Instead, Reimu saw a mixture of fear and confusion in her face. Sanae made a small sound, quickly stood up, and ran to their room. Reimu sat there confused and shocked at what she had done. Soon, her drunkenness was replaced with horror, sorrow, and regret. She did not dare enter their room and remained there in the living room until the next day, sitting alone and afraid with a drunk and passed out oni and a drunk and passed out witch.

Sanae did not emerge from their room, even after Suika and Marisa had left (forcefully by Reimu). Reimu cleaned the front of the shrine, checked the donation box, and gave a short prayer to the kami by herself. Reimu once again felt the harsh loneliness that she always shrugged away. It had been lying in wait for the shrine maiden, and it came with sharp, throbbing pains to her heart and a longing for the missing miko that used to be at her side. She cried quietly in front of the shrine, burying her head into her knees.

Sanae finally left their room after Reimu knocked on their door and called her for dinner. It was a quiet and uneasy dinner. Reimu tried to strike up conversation with her, but Sanae only half-heartedly nodded or shook her head. When the last bits of food disappeared, Sanae thanked her for the food and slowly returned to their room. Looking after her retreating back, Reimu's soul nearly broke again from longing for her. She tried to fight back the new tears like the shrine maiden she used to be, but Sanae was a part of her now.

When it was getting quite late, Reimu reluctantly went to their room for a change of clothing, since she had not bathed the day before. She knocked on the door, which opened after a few moments. There Sanae stood, but Reimu could not meet her eyes. She stammered out that she needed to bathe and quickly got in to get her change of clothes. As she was leaving, she felt a tug on her shirt. She turned and saw Sanae pulling while looking at her with slightly pleading eyes and a hint of longing. Reimu felt a strange heat come up inside her chest as she said that she had to take a bath. But neither of them moved to let go of the other. Finally, Sanae let her arm fall, but as she let go a tiny "Sleep with me" was spoken in earnest. Reimu felt her chest tighten and faintly heard herself saying that she will.

It was a restless sleep. Reimu laid awake in their shared futon, and she could sense that Sanae was also awake. Her heart was pounding, but for better or worse she did not know. She felt Sanae rustle a little. Then she felt something else. It was warm and soft. Reimu realized that Sanae's right hand had crept into her left hand. Reimu turned and saw Sanae's soft green eyes staring at her. Although she couldn't see well in the darkness, she thought saw the slightest hint of a smile before Sanae closed her eyes and fell asleep. Their hands remained together long after Reimu herself had finally fallen asleep, comforted by Sanae's warmth. But when morning came, both of the mikos acted as if last night had not happened. The uneasy, gloomy atmosphere settled in again as they swept the front of the shrine in silence.

"Reimu?" Reimu blinked and looked up. Her ofuda stack had hardly grown. She realized she had been staring down and leaning over the table while remembering. Her brush had created a large puddle of ink on the paper. Sanae was sitting next to her, their knees almost touching.

"I…want to apologize." Reimu looked at Sanae in surprise.

"But what for? You haven't done anything wrong," she said, her voice trailing away, knowing that it was her fault. Sanae shook her head in sadness.

"I'm sorry for running away that night and leaving you. It was, it was because I…I was just so happy," Sanae confessed. Her head bowed slightly. Reimu's heart sped up a little. Did that mean…?

"To be honest, returning you to a proper shrine maiden was just an excuse. I just wanted to be closer to you ever since I came here to Gensokyo. Every time I saw you, there were these feelings I couldn't ignore. I thought that, maybe if there was any reason to come here and…live with you, I would do it," Sanae said, a few tears being shed as she released her inner turmoil.

"Sanae…" Reimu didn't know what to say. Sanae drew an unsteady breathe.

"Then, when you kissed me, I was so happy. I was so happy, that I became scared. I was scared about how you really felt about me or if it was just the alcohol and I didn't know what to do and eventually I just avoided you out of pain and fear and loving you. " Sanae began shaking, and the tears started to flow. Without thinking, Reimu drew her fellow shrine maiden into a comforting embrace. Sanae sobbed and shook in Reimu's arms as her emotions and guilt overwhelmed her. After ten minutes, she calmed down, sniffing a little. She started to wipe away her tear stains. Reimu raised one of her arm sleeves and wiped her face gently. When her stains were gone, Sanae looked back up at Reimu with red but soft eyes.

"Thank you," she said. She pulled away and put her hands in her lap. "I guess I should have told you directly." She took a deep breath, soothing her nerves, and smiled.

"I love you, Reimu." With those simple but heart-throbbing three words, Reimu also let go. She leaned forward and embraced and kissed Sanae. With no resistance, the green haired girl wrapped her arms around the other girl and kissed back. They indulged in each other's love and warmth, both of them giving herself to the other wholly. They kissed and held each other as if they never wanted to be separated again. But finally, Reimu broke their kiss, the lack of air forcing her to move back. A thin strand of saliva trailed and fell away. Sanae sat there dazed but happy. As she basked in the glow of their mutual love, Reimu realized that she herself had not given a proper confession either. She gently held the other girl's hands.

"I love you, Sanae."

Sanae blushed a deep red and then laughed a little out of embarrassment. She drew her lover into a hug.

"I guess this means we are a couple now." Reimu smiled and kissed Sanae again.

"I guess we are."

.

.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Reimu woke up with a start. Squinting in the faint grey darkness, she rolled her head around to find her digital clock. One of the good points about Yukari (and there were not many) was that she brought in tons of things from the Outside World. More often than not, though, they were things that Reimu was not familiar with. Of course, she expected Reimu "to pay" for them, which usually meant physical affection or nuzzling from the gap youkai. But Yukari had helped Reimu set up the clock, and it more or less became a part of her morning wakeup routine. It was also one of the few things the shrine's electricity (as provided by the kappas) was used for. She saw that it was 5:49, almost 6:00 am. Neither time to wake up or go back to sleep. She faced upwards and stared at the ceiling.

Beside her, she felt slight movement under the covers. Reimu made a small smile. Slowly, she towards her lover. Sanae was still asleep, her face turned towards hers. Reimu watched the rise and fall of her body. Even in the darkness, she could make out the curvy and shapely outline. She gently reached over with one hand and stroked Sanae's green, silky hair. The sleeping girl sighed peacefully.

It has been two days since the two mikos confessed their love for each other. Although not much has changed in terms of their activities (they still do everything together), every time their eyes met, one girl would blush in embarrassment as the other hugged her or gave a quick kiss. For once, Reimu was grateful that humans and youkai generally avoided her shrine. She relished the time she spent with Sanae without being interrupted by anyone. Even Marisa had not come by yet since that disastrous night.

Today, after finishing their morning duties, they were going up to the Moriya Shrine. Sanae wanted to check up on them again and wanted Reimu to go with her. Reimu reluctantly agreed. Although willing to do anything for her green haired lover, she was nervous about meeting them. Facing two goddesses was one thing; facing two goddesses who had a missing shrine maiden for the past two weeks was another. Not to mention, Sanae had told her that they knew she loved her. Sanae assured her that the Suwako-sama would be delighted to see that they were together now (" _But Kanako-sama might, um, be a little bit over-protective of me when I come back with you," Sanae said_ ). Although it put Reimu more at ease knowing that at least one goddess would be happy for them, she still wasn't sure what the goddesses will do or think of her.

It was 6:28 am now. Almost time to get up. Sanae insisted on an early rise today, so Reimu complied. Slowly getting out of the covers, she turned off the clock alarm before it can ring and went to wake up the green-haired beauty. She gently nudged her.

"It's time to wake up, Sanae." She stirred a little and opened her eyes. Pushing herself up with one arm, she got into sitting position and yawned.

"Good morning, Reimu," she said sleepily. Reimu smiled and gently kissed her on the cheek. The two girls changed out of their sleepwear with their backs to each other and put on their recognizable shrine maiden clothing. Reimu stole a peek at Sanae and watched as she put on her arm sleeves. She saw her put them on and tie them with blue string, her ample chest bouncing a little. Instinctively, she put her own hands to her own chest and blushed a deep red. It would be appropriate to believe that she was jealous of Sanae's voluptuous body, but in reality it sent her heart racing for the other girl. She took a few, slow, deep breaths to calm her nerves down. Then she felt two wondrous sensations on her back.

"Reimu~, are you ready yet?" Sanae pressed her chest into Reimu. She knew well enough that she had peeked earlier in order to gape at her body. Reimu awkwardly stiffened, and her heart pounded harder.

"S-Sanae! Your b-bre-!" The green, playful shrine maiden giggled.

"I'll go ahead and breakfast for us." Sanae let go of Reimu, but as she left their room, she casually glanced backward and blew a light kiss.

"See you in a bit, Reimu~." With a swish of blue and white clothing, she was gone. Reimu collapsed in a blissful heap.

 _Pi~chun._

Ah, how she loved Sanae.

Breakfast passed in a way that was normal for two flirting and love struck mikos. The morning sweeping was done in record time, and the kami was hastily given a food offering. Near midday, Sanae and Reimu were finally ready to go to the Moriya Shrine. They gently rose into the air and flew towards Youkai Mountain.

"Oh, I hope they didn't miss me too much." Sanae said worriedly, not losing her voice to the wind rushing past them.

"I was wondering, how is it that they let you stay with me?" Reimu asked. The wind avoided her altogether.

"Ahaa. Uhm, well, you see…" Sanae said timidly. As the green and blue shrine maiden stumbled through her words, Reimu realized what she was getting at.

"You performed some miracles." Sanae nearly dropped in flight but quickly recovered.

"W-well, some things happened the day I went to live with you. And I don't think they were miracles, per se," she said, "But Kanako-sama, ah, experienced quite a bit of misfortune. A few of the large pillars somehow fell on her, and Hina spun right into her from out of nowhere…and then there was that sudden hurricane on Youkai Mountain after I left…" Sanae said as her voice dwindled into unease. Reimu flew closer to her and gently took one of Sanae's hands.

"Hey now, if a goddess could make a hell raven go nuclear, then I think she is fine." Sanae nodded and her expression softened a little. The two flew the rest of the way in silence. When they saw the first glimpse of Moriya Shrine with its large pillars, Sanae's face brightened, and they sped up a little. They passed over the forests of Youkai Mountain and the waterfalls with relative ease. There were no youkai, fairies, or goddesses to be seen either, giving the colorful couple a wide berth. Soon, they were at the first stone steps leading up to the shrine.

As they ascended, a strange thought occurred to Reimu. If Sanae could perform miracles, was her love also a miracle? Did she develop these feelings that were not her own? The thought made Reimu's heart skip badly, and she quickly pushed it out of her mind. No! Sanae wasn't that kind of person to do that. Not after seeing how she was over the past few weeks with her. At Reimu's side, the green and blue miko sensed her distress.

"What's wrong?" She said, concerned.

"Uh, it's nothing," Reimu said quickly. But, her heart started to ache a little. Sanae did not press any further, and they flew the rest of the way in continued silence. The shrine finally came into view, and the two shrine maidens lightly landed in front of the donation box. Surprisingly, the front of it was clean, even though Sanae had not been there to do it for a while. Something brown and purple jumped from the top of the one large standing pillars and landed in a frog like way.

"Sanae!" The goddess leaped to her feet and ran to hug the missing miko. The short girl collided with her in a deep hug.

"I'm back, Suwako-sama!" Sanae said. She kneeled and hugged her adorable goddess. Reimu smiled at the small reunion.

"Welcome back, Sanae," said another voice. Reimu looked up and saw it was Kanako. Rather than looking at Sanae, she was looking at her directly with narrowed eyes. Reimu glared back, meeting the other goddess's eyes. Unexpectedly, Sanae walked up to Kanako and hugged her.

"Kanako-sama, thank you," Recovering with a startled look, Kanako soon began smiling and returning her hug. Suwako pulled Reimu's sleeve to bring her to head level.

"So, Reimu, how has Sanae been?" She said. She was smiling in a knowing way.

"Oh, you know, the nice person she is to everyone," Reimu replied offhandedly as best she could. She refused to get trapped.

"Uhuh. But much, _much_ , nicer to you right?" The frog girl continued, teasing the young shrine maiden. Before Reimu could reply, she heard a shout.

"Hakurei, a word please!" This came from Kanako. She wasn't glaring at her anymore, but she didn't look happy either. Sanae stood anxious at her side. Suwako tugged on her sleeve again.

"You'll be fine. Kanako may be stubborn, but she loves Sanae also." She smiled again. "Do your best!" Feeling a lump in her throat, Reimu nodded. She straightened up and walked over to the menacing goddess. Kanako led them to a side of the shrine where it looked over the mountain's forest of Gensokyo. By now, it was becoming close to noon. A gust of wind blew past them as they walked to the open area.

With Reimu's back facing the shrine wall, Kanako turned towards her with arms folded. She glared at her again. Then she sighed.

"Of all the youkai and humans, it just had to be you." Reimu felt a vein pop up. She opened her to speak, but the other woman got there first.

"I'm actually kind of glad." Reimu closed her mouth and looked at her in surprise.

"I don't know if you know this, but out of all of us, Sanae was the one who lost the most when we came to Gensokyo. She had to leave behind her friends, home, and previous life. She went with us willingly, of course, because for her, we were the only parents she had. But despite what she says to us, I know that our moving affected her." She looked at the ground. "Sanae tries to hide her loneliness from us. Around here, there isn't anyone she can associate with around her age. Youkai age and view humans differently, and what humans that visit our shrine are few and fearful of the youkai. When she isn't doing her duties, Suwako or I would catch her looking listlessly here sometimes. And every once in a while, she would cry in her room." Kanako took a deep breath and then looked back at the shrine maiden. "Suwako and I love and care for Sanae, but we can only do so much to make her feel at ease and happy here in Gensokyo."

Reimu remained silent, unsure of what to say. The way Kanako spoke of Sanae reminded her of her own lonely self. Of how she spent her days alone with the occasional visits from Marisa and noisy youkai. Of how disconnected she was from other humans. While reflecting, Reimu nearly missed what Kanako said next.

"But then she met you." Reimu's head jerked a little to attention at this. The goddess gave a small smile.

"You know, for a bruiser of a miko, you have that weird appealing factor to other youkai. And Sanae is no exception. Up until she left us for you, she had been spending more and more time here in love rather than in sadness. It was a different kind of pain, but one that we were both happy for. And I believe love is what she needs to heal." She grimaced a little, as if what she was about say next will make her regret it.

"At least with you, I know that she will be in safe hands. And to be honest, I trust you more than any other youkai or human." Kanako took another deep breath and peered at the red miko with unnerving, judgmental eyes. "So, Reimu Hakurei, will you make Sanae happy?"

Reimu open and closed her mouth. She instead looked the goddess back in the eyes and nodded. She didn't need to speak; in her heart, she knew that she would be there for Sanae no matter what. The action seemed to relieve Kanako, and she was smiling again.

"Good, because now we have the Hakurei Shrine for faith gathering!"

"Hey! The shrine is mine!" Reimu said back irritated. The two glared at each other again and then broke into laughter. Reimu felt the tension lift in the air. Kanako closed her distance to Reimu and gave her an awkward hug.

"But seriously, welcome to the Moriya Family." Reimu smiled and also awkwardly hugged her back. For both of them, Sanae's happiness and love was theirs as well. They released and walked back to the inside of Moriya Shrine.

They found Suwako and Sanae sitting at a low table the inside of the shrine/home. The layout of the living room was similar to Reimu's home but bigger and wider. A frog clock hanged on one of the walls, and there was a smaller shrine with short pillars standing guard on each of its sides. Suwako stood up and hugged Reimu.

"Congrats, Reimu!" She said excitedly, who had already predicted the outcome.

"Th-thanks," Reimu replied, not used to the abundant affection of the goddess. The small girl let go and went to sit beside Kanako at the table. Reimu took her place beside Sanae. As she sat down, Sanae's fingers crept into Reimus hand. Reimu blushed a little, and Sanae gave a small smile. Mercifully, the other two seemed to not have noticed the exchange.

"So, how have you and Kanako been without Sanae around?"" Reimu asked. Sanae squeezed her hand when her name was mentioned.

"Well, the first week was kind of hard," Suwako said. She glanced briefly at her companion before continuing. "We didn't realize how much work Sanae did for us. The sweeping, cleaning, cooking, and faith gathering."

"It also didn't help that Aya kept hanging around here after she found out Sanae hadn't been home lately," Kanako added. "But at least she did chores for us a few times."

As the two goddesses talked about their woes because of their missing miko, Reimu felt dread grow in her heart. She just realized that Aya was going to be a problem. Although the crow had visited them during Sanae's stay, it wasn't anything worthy of _Bunbunmaru_ newspaper; a shrine maiden helping out another shrine maiden wasn't that unusual. But now that they were a couple, if even Aya got the tiniest wind of it, she would keep bothering them until she got a scoop. And then she will never live down the unending teasing from Marisa and Suika, not to mention the other youkai who will visit just for the sake of seeing if it were true.

 _*Click* *Snap* *Snap* *Snap*_

Reimu's blood went cold and felt her heart positively drop into her stomach. Her head turned towards the opening and saw her current nightmare take form.

"Ayaya, what's this?" The crow cooed. Instantly, a flurry of ofuda and spirit orbs streamed at her, but the pure and honest Aya Shameimaru speedily grazed around them.

"A scoop of the lifetime! The hot-blooded Shrine Maiden of Paradise seeks the hand of the graceful green miko of Moriya-"

"Aaaaahh!" Reimu shot out from her seat and chased after the nosy reporter. Kanako and Suwako laughed as the red miko flung danmaku everywhere. Sanae watched the spectacle in awe, her eyes following a certain person instead of the bullets. Unfortunately for Reimu, Aya had stoked her conscious enough to cause her to lose focus and miss her.

"Ayaya, Reimu! You're gonna have to do better than that! People are watching!"

Reimu staggered a little in the air, swayed by Aya's new taunt. They were indeed being watched by other people, one of them being Sanae. Struck with sudden embarrassment and anger at Aya, she sent out numerous homing talismans in rapid throws. But her hesitation had costed her. The crow zoomed out of their range and was soon an evil laughing spec in the distant sky. Reimu's shoulder slumped in defeat. She flew back to the shrine, already dreading the consequences of Aya's paper tomorrow. Sanae got up and comforted the other miko as she reached the ground. Wisely, Suwako and Kanako didn't say anything, although Kanako had a small smirk on her face. Suwako looked at the hanging clock on the wall and had an idea. She clapped her hands.

"Ah, I know the best thing to cheer you up, Reimu! Lunch!" She got up and pulled on the other goddess.

"H-hey," Kanako protested. Sanae moved towards the kitchen.

"Ah, then let me prepare-" She began to say, but the frog-like girl cut her off.

"No, no, Sanae, it's our treat. This is the perfect chance to show you two what we can cook now," Suwako said cheerily. "And, I think you have someone to attend to first."

With that said, she half-pulled, half-dragged Kanako to the kitchen, leaving to give Sanae and Reimu some time alone. Sanae took Reimu's hand and led her back to the table. They sat down, and Reimu held the other girl's hand again. They were silent for a little bit, hearing worrying noises come from the other room with the two goddesses.

"Sorry about earlier. It's just…I don't want us to be bothered by other people, well youkai," Reimu said sadly. Sanae leaned over and gently hugged Reimu.

"I know. But I love you no matter what others may think of us, Reimu," Sanae said. Reimu hugged her back, grateful for her love and understanding. They released after a while and Reimu gave a quick kiss on Sanae's lips. Sanae giggled a little and kissed back. This time, they held the new kiss for much longer.

"Ahem." Sanae and Reimu quickly broke away. They saw that the goddesses had walked in with trays of food. Suwako had a large grin on her face, but Kanako had a look of murder on hers.

"My, Reimu, doing that sort of thing in our home already, " Suwako teased. She walked over the table and put her tray down. The other goddess sighed exasperatedly but dispelled her bad mood. She was just going to have to get used to walking in on them. The miko couple sat very still and red faced as the food was put on to the table. But once everything was set up, they began to tuck in.

"Itadakimasu!"

The food was very good, much to Reimu's surprise. She had expected burnt meat, watery rice, or something hard, but the soba was well made and the stir fry meat and veggies were also cooked thoroughly. As they ate, the four of them chatted and gossiped about things happening around both of their shrines and how faith gathering was going and what was Marisa probably doing right now and could you pass the soy sauce, please? When the last bits of food were eaten, Sanae, who insisted that she would do it, gathered the empty plates to wash them in the kitchen.

Reimu drank the rest of her tea and put the cup down. Suwako was sitting in Kanako's lap now, and they were enjoying themselves with small cups of sake. Reimu watched as Suwako brought a cup of sake to Kanako's lips, who drank it promptly. The smaller girl giggled, and the taller woman did the same for her. Reimu imagined herself doing that for Sanae, and blushed a little. She quickly turned away to face the outdoors and soothe her beating heart. Outside the wind blew a few leaves over the shrine grounds. Lulled by the tranquility after a good lunch, Reimu mulled over the last few hours.

As much as she hated it, there wasn't much she can do to stop Aya from making their relationship public knowledge. The crow would knowingly avoid her and the green haired miko, meaning she couldn't punish or silence her. No, she would have to enjoy what little time she had with Sanae alone before the nosy youkais and noisy magician show up. With Sanae… Reimu's heart panged briefly as she recalled her uneasy feeling earlier this morning. She could create miracles, and it was possible that her own love for Sanae was made by her. But the green haired miko seemed to genuinely care about her, and Kanako made it sound like Sanae would never do such a thing. But if were true, then what did she feel about her? _How_ would she feel about Sanae now? Reimu remained in turmoil with her feelings for a few minutes. Without really knowing, she decided to ask the two goddesses, who knew Sanae better than her. She turned to face them, her heating steadily pounding with increasing dread.

"Um, Suwako and Kanako, sama," Reimu said, unsure of how to address them. The two looked at her in surprise, because Reimu had never addressed them this way before.

"My love for Sanae isn't…a miracle, is it?" Reimu asked, afraid of the answer. Suwako and Kanako looked at each other and then smiled at the anxious girl. Suwako got up and hugged the red miko.

"No, Reimu, Sanae loves you from the bottom of her heart," She said. "We know what a girl looks like in love, especially if it is Sanae."

"Sanae truly loves you, else she wouldn't have created such a mess when she left us," Kanako said, referring to the events that happened to her two weeks ago. "So to answer your question, no, your love is not a miracle."

Reimu felt a large weight on her heart lift, and she hugged Suwako back in cascading relief.

For the rest of the afternoon, Reimu helped the Moriya family do some household cleaning. Now assured that her love was her own, Reimu couldn't help but feel both elated and nervous around Sanae when they happened to be in the same room. Every time Sanae gave her a small smile or a quick kiss, she felt like she would faint from overwhelming happiness. But luckily, the hours passed by without any more major issues and they finished by late afternoon. Now, Reimu and Sanae stood in front of the Moriya shrine with the two goddesses, preparing to head back to the Hakurei Shrine. Suwako went up and gave one last hug to Sanae.

"So, you'll be staying with Reimu from now on?" Kanako asked. The green miko bowed.

"Yes, if that is alright with Kanako-sama." The older woman nodded, then turned her face towards Reimu.

"Please take care of her, Reimu," she said softly. The red miko nodded. Suwako bounded over and hugged her as well.

"You are always welcome to stay here too, Reimu," she said. "Please visit us ever so often!"

The group gave their final goodbyes, and the young couple rose into the air and flew off. The two goddesses waved until they became specks in the sky.

"So, our little girl is growing up," the smaller of the two said. The taller woman merely huffed and crossed her arms. Grinning, Suwako pulled down on Kanako's arm to bring her to head level and kissed her.

"Sanae might be away from us, but I will always be here for you." Kanako smiled and kissed her again.

"Yeah."

High above them in the sky, the two mikos held hands as they flew. They remained silent during the trip, but both of them gave the other loving glances to the side ever so often. Many times, their gazes would meet, and they would blush and try to steady their flight again. By the time they arrived at the Hakurei Shrine, the last hints of the sun were finally dipping below Gensokyo's mountains. Overcome from her tumultuous feelings throughout the day, Reimu waited until both of them were on the ground, and then she gently pulled Sanae into a hug.

"I love you, Sanae" she said. Sanae smiled and hugged the red miko back.

"And I love you, Reimu."

.

.

Author's note:

Hello, Kali Shima here! I hope you enjoyed reading this fan fic thus far. The first chapter feels very one-shot, but it is not the end of my writing. I plan to write more on this lovely couple, about one month or so per chapter depending on how much my life wants to interfere with me.

I had planned on releasing this in the beginning of March, but then computer problems and sudden workload.


	3. Chapter 3

As Reimu had feared, a large bundle of _Bunbunmaru_ newspapers appeared in front of the shrine the next morning. More precisely, they were stacked on top of the donation box, taunting her with their presence. Reimu looked at the front page of the topmost newspaper and groaned. It was a professional shot, impossible to have been taken unless Aya was right in the room with them. It showed her and Sanae holding hands at the table and facing the Moriya goddesses with a slight blush on her face. The caption under it boldly read:

 **CAUGHT IN THE ACT! Two Legendary Shrine Maidens, Rivals No More?**

She took the stack of newspapers, checked her donation box (which was empty, as usual), and went back inside. Sanae was sitting at the table, fiddling with her frog hair ornament. The young couple had just finished breakfast when Reimu felt a sudden urge to inspect her box. Closing the sliding doors behind her, Reimu put the stack of newspapers in a corner of the room and then sat beside the other girl. She sighed sadly.

"Aya's paper came. This is going to be a long and tiring day" was heard from the depressed girl, who was already feeling the weight of the numerous visits from the youkai. The green haired miko smiled sympathetically in response but did not say anything. She started to put on her snake hair clip as her red companion continued to moan about her woes.

"I mean, it's already bad enough that I have to go around exterminating them every time someone causes an incident."

Sanae finished threading her hair through the clip and inspected it. Satisfied with its appearance, she leaned over.

"Now we won't be left alone in peace-" Reimu started to say when she felt Sanae kiss her cheek. Her face instantly flushed, and she turned towards the other girl, who had a slight smile on her face.

"You're so cute when you're flustered" Sanae said. She took ahold of Reimu's hands and squeezed them to comfort her. "But, like I said before, I love you no matter what they may think of us."

"Sanae…," Reimu said.

"Oh dear, am I interrupting something?" a voice inquired.

The couple jumped a little in their places. They turned and saw a woman in a white and purple dress standing in front of the closed sliding doors. She wore a mobcap with a red, thin ribbon and carried an umbrella similarly decorated with long, red ribbons. An elongated gap that was filled with blank, staring eyes and darkness closed behind her. Reimu scowled at newcomer.

"Yukari." Yukari Yakumo smiled.

"My, Reimu, I had not heard that much contempt from you since the first time I fought you," she commented cheerily.

"What do you want, Yukari?" The gap youkai slightly tilted her head, as if pondering the question herself.

"What do I want, indeed." Slightly twirling her umbrella, she pulled out a Bunbaru newspaper from a small gap. They heard a small, indignant yell come from it, as if she had just stolen her copy from a youkai that was reading it. Yukari faked reading the topmost page and then put back it back through the gap. She looked at the miko couple again.

"I tend to ignore these kind of sensational headlines, considering that they mostly come from that crow," she replied. "But this particular article struck me as…unusual."

The gap youkai paused a little before continuing.

"I didn't think you were one to make such an announcement, Reimu. Needless to say, I found it quite interesting and wanted hear more about it. I _can_ ask, yes?" She said, tilting her head innocently.

Yukari was on another level of annoying. Reimu knew that the youkai was fully aware that she could've spied on them using her gaps, but it was more fun for her to tease Reimu this way. It took all of the red miko's willpower to not grab her gohei and start flinging danmaku at her to get her out. That, and possibly destroying her sliding doors for the second time would not help the situation either.

"And if we don't tell you anything?" Reimu said instead, seething with anger. Yukari pulled out a fan and lightly fanned herself with it.

"You don't have to. But consider that kind of answer as…unsatisfactory for the other youkai that will come here too~."

A heavy silence formed in the room as Reimu glared at the proclaimed seventeen year old "woman," who held the red shrine maiden's gaze. The seconds dragged into minutes as Sanae helplessly looked back and forth to her lover and the insufferably calm youkai. Finally, she broke the tense atmosphere.

"Um, Yukari, sama," Sanae added in quickly to not displease her. Yukari shifted her eyes towards Sanae, who flinched a little.

"It wasn't our choice to have our relationship be exposed by Aya." The green miko looked at Reimu before continuing. "I think that, when we were ready for it, we would have announced it to a few close friends and no more."

After a few moments considering her words, the gap youkai nodded.

"I see. Thank you, Sanae Kochiya. I believe that is all I need to know then." She closed her fan and bowed towards the couple. "May the love you share be everlasting and strong."

Yukari turned to go, opening a gap in front of her.

"W-wait, that's it?" Reimu said, shocked at her sudden departure. She had expected the youkai to make their relationship a much bigger issue than she let on. But she had spoken too soon; Yukari paused and turned around with a stern and disapproving look. The red and white shrine maiden immediately regretted stopping her from leaving them in peace.

"I am sure you are aware of this, Reimu, but do not forget your duties. Just as how the Hakurei Border is the border between Gensokyo and the Outside World, you are the delicate balance and force between humans and youkai. Do not let love blind you of this." Yukari's eyes softened just the tiniest amount.

"If you love the Moriya shrine maiden, then it is not within my boundaries to question it."

With a final swirl of her clothing, she disappeared into a gap. The couple was left alone again. Reimu leaned against Sanae, feeling very tired.

"I will never understand Yukari." Sanae smiled slightly.

"There's going to be many more youkai like that today, too."

"Ugh..."

.

.

The inhabitants of Gensokyo came to the Hakurei shrine in steady waves, their senses of curiosity and general nosiness sparked by Aya's paper. The first to arrive were Marisa Kirisame and Alice Margatroid. They bombarded her and Sanae with personal questions, some of them quite rude in Reimu's opinion ("Have you two done it yet?" Marisa said excitedly, at which point Alice smacked her in the back of the head for being so blunt). Some of the Scarlet Devil Mansion group came to tease or play danmaku with Reimu, with the exception of Hong Meiling, who was stuck guarding the mansion, and Patchouli Knowledge, who wasn't interested. The Netherworld servant Youmu Konpaku and master Yuyuko Saigyouji brought a celebratory basket of food that was cooked and prepared by Youmu and subsequently eaten by Yuyuko. Kaguya Houraisan was curious and also visited them, making Eirin Yagokoro, Reisen Udongein Inaba, and Tewi Inaba accompany her out of worry, or lack of in Tewi's case. The celestial Tenshi Hinanawi found the entire article entertaining and wanted to be part of it, similarly forcing the heavenly oarfish Iku Nagae to escort her. Komeji Satori and her pets, the hellcat Rin Kaenbyou (Orin) and hell raven Utsuho Reiuji (Okuu), watched Reimu squirm under Komeji's mind reading. The whole of Myouren Temple led by Byakuren Hijiri took the chance to preach about unity through love, and the Taoists led by Toyosatomimi no Miko saw the Myouren Temple's visit as a challenge and used theirs to oppose them. By near sunset, Reimu was about fed up with the teasing and taunts from the youkai.

…Actually, the visits were not the worst part. After they had talked to or teased the couple in the shrine home, the youkai claimed spaces on the shrine grounds and sent a lackey or servant to get food, refreshments, or bring more youkai. But both Reimu and Sanae were too preoccupied with each successive group of youkai to go and remove them from their spots. Thus, by sunset, all of the youkai there had turned their gathering into an opportunity to throw a drinking party.

Reimu now sat on the steps leading up to the donation box with her head in her hands. She could hear the Prismriver Sisters playing a music battle against the tsukumogamis Raiko Horikawa, Benben Tsukumo and Yatsuhashi Tsukumo. If she tilted her head a little to the left, she heard the loud and drunk youkai laughing and cheering. As she miserably pondered what had led up this, she felt something hard nudge her shoulder. She looked up and saw Marisa holding a bottle of sake and grinning.

"Hey, Reimu. Thought you might want this, ze."

Reimu took the bottle and mumbled thanks. The black and white witch sat down next to her friend, and for a while they watched the party in silence. Alice was conducting a small puppet show for the fairies. Cirno and Daiyousei were noticeably among them, captivated by the dolls' movements. Youmu and Reisen were running back and forth trying to serve their masters. The Myouren Temple group and the Taoists had apparently resolved their dispute through mutual drunkenness and were now mingling with each other. Beside her, Marisa sighed in content.

"Man, it's times like these when I wonder why we even have a youkai exterminator." Reimu huffed, in spite of what she felt right now.

"Don't be silly, almost all of them here right now have been involved in some incident that you and I had had to sort out."

"Yea, but it made things a lot livelier in Gensokyo, no?" Reimu had to admit that what Marisa said was true; had it not been for the youkai causing disasters left and right, she doubt she would have made peace, and even friends, with many of them. Not to mention, she would have been lonelier…

"And you and Sanae together is an incident in and of itself, ze!"

"So, how are things between you and Alice?" Reimu said, desperate to change the subject. Marisa's smile grew wider.

"Great! Did you know that Alice likes it when you massage her hands? Probably because she uses them so much to make her dolls and control them. Right now, I'm helping her research into self-conscious dolls, and…"

Reimu stared at the sake bottle she held as Marisa talked about her cute significant other, not really listening to her. She used to envy their relationship, as she never really knew what love felt like. But then she fell in love with Sanae. She looked up and saw a glimpse of a familiar white sleeve. The green and blue miko was currently being goaded into a drink by Suika. She sighed internally. Perhaps it was inevitable that they were going to throw a party at her shrine in the next few weeks; nothing interesting (or disastrous) had happened in Gensokyo for a while. Aya's paper simply sped up the timing, and many of the youkai took that chance. In any case, they were making a mess of her shrine, like they always did. Reimu popped open her sake bottle and proceeded to drink from it.

"Oh!" Marisa exclaimed.

Reimu finished about half of the alcohol before she stopped. She started to feel the familiar buzzed sensation.

"I see you're getting into the mood now, Reimu, ze."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her words were slurring just a bit. Marisa slyly looked away and gestured at a few people.

"Oh, nothing yet." A white haired maid and a white haired swordsman came over.

"Hey, Sakuya. Reimu's almost ready." The maid smiled and gently helped the slightly drunk shrine maiden up.

"Please come with me, Reimu. We have to get you prepared."

"Wait, prepared for what? Marisa!" Reimu called out angrily, but the witch was now talking to Youmu and ignored her completely.

Sakuya Izayoi led Reimu inside the shrine home. She paused for a few moments before closing the sliding doors. When she turned around, Reimu saw that she had a bundle of clothing in her hands.

"Here, Reimu, please put this on." Reimu folded her arms and glared at the ever polite maid.

"Sakuya, what's going on?" But, like Marisa, Sakuya did not answer and merely held up the bundle. Reimu eyed it with great suspicion.

"And if I refuse to put it on?"

The maid shrugged and pulled out an ornate stopwatch. She smiled benevolently at the miko, knowing full well that she will be wearing it either way. Reimu gave Sakuya one last scathing look before taking the bundle and going to her room to change. She noticed that it was one piece of clothing and let it unroll naturally. It revealed itself to be a sleeveless dress similar to the design of her shrine outfit. It was a bright scarlet color, and the edges and collar of it were outlined with a thicker white fabric. A red ribbon was tied under the collar, and a larger one around the waist. It was basically, in Reimu's mind, a yukata that lacked arm sleeves and took less work to wear. She put the dress on, surprised at how comfortable and familiar it felt. She pulled on each of the ribbons until they felt snug and inspected herself in the mirror.

 _This actually suits me_ , Reimu admitted to herself. She turned herself this way and that, marveling at how different and brighter she looked without her usual attire. When she heard knocking and the door opening, she realized she had spent too much time ogling herself. Sakuya walked in and saw the shrine maiden posing. Reimu's face instantly turned the same color as the dress. But the maid merely smiled and went over to the miko.

"Here. You can let your hair down for today," she said, undoing Reimu's head ribbon. Sakuya took a comb from the top of a drawer and expertly brushed the other girl's hair in a short time. She took a step back and inspected her work. Satisfied, she gently took Reimu's hand once again and led her outside to the corner of the shrine, just out of sight of the shrine grounds.

"Please wait here, Reimu." Sakuya said politely. She pulled out her stopwatch and disappeared, stopping time to spirit away elsewhere. But fed up with the secrecy and complacency, Reimu peeked around the corner. Instead of a mess and drunk youkai strewn about the shrine grounds, she saw all of them looking at the front of the shrine expectantly. They were not drinking nor fooling around for once. It shocked her a little seeing this spectacle, and she quickly pulled back. Before she had time to process it all, she heard Marisa's voice ring out, amplified by magic.

"Hello, Gensokyo, da-ze! This is Marisa Kirisame bringing you the special event of the evening!" All of the youkai cheered loudly, a cacophony of female voices.

"Many thanks to the Scarlet Devil maid Sakuya and Netherworld servant Youmu, for which this couldn't have been done without their help!" Reimu risked another peek. She scanned the youkai crowd and didn't see where Marisa was talking. She looked directly to her right and saw her standing right where her _donation box should have been_. The increasingly furious shrine maiden had taken only one step forward to kill the witch when she was pulled back.

"No, Reimu. This is for the best," Sakuya's voice said quietly. Reimu broke free from the maid's hold and turned on her.

"What the hell, Sakuya?! What exactly is this all for?" Reimu demanded. Before Sakuya could answer, Marisa called out to them.

"Without further ado, let's have our very special people out here!" Sakuya smiled and bowed to Reimu.

"If you please." Reimu glared at the cordial maid/Marisa's partner-in-crime.

"I swear, once all of this is over, I am going to exterminate you all."

.

.

Reimu walked to where Marisa was standing. Now that she thought about it, she had never gone out in front of other humans and youkai in different clothing. It made her feel very vulnerable and self-conscious of herself.

"Marisa, what are you doing to my shrine?!" She angrily said once she reached her. A green patch of clothing suddenly caught her eye, and she looked past the grinning witch. Her mouth dropped, and her anger all but disappeared in that moment.

Sanae looked like she had been bathed in green light; her hair shone a soft, luminescent green and her eyes were bright and inviting. She was dressed in a similar outfit to hers, only light green and with sky blue ribbons.

"Like what you see, Reimu?" Reimu heard Marisa say.

"Aba…" She was at a loss of words. Sanae brushed back a hair out of that was sticking out and blushed at her. Marisa took her speechlessness as a yes and turned to the youkai.

"And now for the special event! Let us watch the famous couple of Gensokyo partake in their love and kiss, ze!" Reimu tore her eyes away from Sanae.

"Wait, what!?"

The youkai started to chant "Kiss! Kiss!" over and over at the couple. Reimu began to panic and turn very red; she wasn't ready to kiss Sanae in public yet, let alone in front of the very youkai who will no doubt remember this and tease her for it later on. She could also tell that they were getting a kick out of it, watching the shrine maiden squirm under pressure for their entertainment. Reimu turned back to Sanae to see what her reaction was. Sanae was also red in the face as well, but she didn't look as panicked as she was. The green clad girl took Reimu's hands and held them.

"I see now why they made us change. You look very beautiful, Reimu," Sanae said softly, though Reimu could still hear her over the chanting. She nervously giggled. "And now we have to show them that we love each other."

Reimu peered at Sanae closely. The redness she had on her face did not seem to be because of embarrassment.

"Sanae, are you drunk?" Sanae shook her head _no_ too many times. _Suika and her damn sake gourd._ The chanting grew louder as the couple continued to stare at each other, and Reimu felt the pressure grow on them to hurry up and do the kiss.

 _Damn the youkai_ , Reimu thought. Forget exterminating; she will make sure that they regret living. But for now, Sanae. She closed her eyes and kissed her alluring, green lover. The chanting became a loud cheer, and Marisa's fireworks exploded above them. They colored the starry night red, white, green, and blue, a fiery symbol of their love.

 _Marisa had probably planned this since she first arrived_ , Reimu realized. The witch had had time to talk with each of the youkai that came and acted accordingly to set this up. As she broke the kiss, Reimu felt almost grateful for her friend and the support from Sakuya and Youmu. There was still the issue of her donation box missing and getting them drunk, but for now, she and Sanae will take it easy and let the youkai have their fun.

.

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	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello. It's been awhile since I picked this up again. I needed some time off to think about some more Chapter stories. But yay, back to Reimu x Sanae!

*Some information Chapter 4 is based off of:

*Because Reimu and Sanae's relationship had made the front page (and more or less because Reimu was the infamous youkai "exterminator"), the _Bunbunmaru_ newspaper for once spiked in popularity. It drew attention from nearly all of the youkai, and soon many of the Gensokyo humans began hearing rumors about something going on between Reimu and Sanae. After about a week, pretty much every inhabitant in Gensokyo knew about their relationship.

*It's now been a month and a half since Chapter 3. Very early on, Reimu insisted that she and Sanae would take turns getting food from the human village alone. But, as expected, they were still mercilessly teased whenever one of them went to the village to get food. Thankfully for Reimu, none of youkai and other humans dared to visit her shrine for various and understandable reasons (1. Not to incur the wrath of the Red-White, 2. Youkai still visited her shrine in droves, 3. It was far to walk to), allowing her to have a peace of mind. And more thankfully, the teasing had finally died down to friendly and supportive comments in passing in the last few weeks.

Chapter 4 takes place in this period of blissfulness for the red shrine maiden.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 **.**

"Hey, Reimu, what do you think of this one?" Sanae twirled in the green summer dress, showing off the complementing clothing to Reimu.

"It, it looks great on you," the red miko replied. As she spoke, Reimu felt her face burn brightly red from embarrassment. All around them, the other humans and few youkai in the clothing store watched the spectacle unfold out of the corner of their eyes, unable to repress a smile at the two maidens. Oblivious to the glances from the other patrons, Sanae stopped twirling and faced Reimu. She put her hands behind her back and tilted her head a little.

"Only great? Surely there is more you can say about it?" She said seductively. Her green eyes bore into Reimu's in a brilliant and questioning gaze.

"I, I think you look wonderful," Reimu stammered. If she thought that she couldn't get any more red in the face, she was wrong. Sanae giggled, the answer clearly delighting her.

"I mean the dress, silly," she said, and she lightly fluttered back into her changing room, leaving the red miko alone again in the store. Reimu heard a several small snickers come from behind her, making their owner's gleeful observations evident.

 _Oh Kami, how did she get into this?_

.

.

A few hours earlier…

.

.

Reimu frowned at the board in front of her. She hesitantly moved her piece to a spot on it. On the other side, Sanae smiled and deftly replaced Reimu's rook with her bishop.

"Checkmate."

Stunned at her checkmated King, Reimu threw her hands up in the air and fell back onto the tatami mat.

"Arrrrgh! I don't get this game!"

Sanae laughed and pushed the chessboard a little ways from her and Reimu. She crawled over and laid next to her frustrated partner.

"Well, you wanted to know what kind of Outside World games I knew."

"That was before you beat me five times, though," the red miko muttered. Her green lover propped herself up onto one arm and then gently kissed her.

"If it makes you feel any better, I find it rather cute that there is something that you _are_ bad at," Sanae teased.

Reimu flushed slightly red out of shame. She turned her head to not let Sanae see her face and saw that it was near lunchtime on a nearby clock. Sanae noticed where she was looking and stood up. She stretched her arms out, feeling the soreness in her legs and arms from sitting in one place too long.

"I'll go make us lunch," she said cheerily. Reimu murmured, "Ok", and the green-haired miko went to the kitchen. The sounds of slicing vegetables and gentle humming from Sanae were soon heard as she started to prepare their food.

After a few minutes of listening, Reimu returned back to her sitting position and stretched out her own arms in front of her. She and Sanae had spent a good part of the morning talking about the Outside World. Reimu was not intimately familiar with how things were over there, and most of what she knew (or thought she knew) was through Yukari. The blue miko was delighted to share about her previous life, though. It eventually led to a discussion of games that Sanae played and her five consecutive losses in chess. Reimu's face flickered briefly in irritation.

She had never experienced such utter and humiliating defeat in life, and the feeling was downright awful. But, despite having shown several bouts of frustration and cursing during the games, she was not actually mad about losing. It was the exact opposite. She never had so much fun trying out something new and difficult with Sanae. The way that she would knit her eyebrows in concentration and how her eyes lit up every time she took one of Reimu's pieces…It was probably no wonder that she lost five times, distracted by the green-haired beauty in front of her.

"Reimu? Lunch is ready," Sanae called from the kitchen. Reimu realized she had been blankly staring at a wall with a slightly dazed and happy expression on her face. Flustered, she smoothed down her clothes and turned around.

"Ok," She replied back. She flinched, hearing her voice crack a little. Luckily, it did not seem that Sanae noticed, and the green haired girl came back into the living room with a tray of udon filled bowls.

"They're a little hot, so please wait a bit," she said, placing the tray onto the table.

Noticing that there were no utensils on the tray, Reimu quickly nipped into the kitchen and grabbed three pairs of chopsticks and spoons. She went back to the room and placed them by each of the bowls that Sanae had placed for them. And finally, after taking seat beside the other miko, they clapped their hands.

"Itadakimasu." Sanae, Reimu, and Koishi said, thanking the food.

...

...

...

Reimu did a double take and looked at her right side. A young girl wearing a wide brimmed hat and a yellow and green dress was slurping the third bowl of noodles down. A floating, closed eye that had vein-like string coming out of it drifted a little above the girl's heart.

"Koishi!" Sanae looked around, confused for a second.

"Eh?"

" _Mmm_!" Instead of answering the red miko, Koishi Komeiji made a sound of content and continued eating. Reimu raised her hand and then lowered it. Feeling that it was useless to get angry at a crime that was already being digested, Reimu sighed heavily and picked up her chopsticks. Soon, the couple forgot about the intruding girl, and the sounds of chewing and gentle blowing of the hot noodles took over the room. Halfway through her bowl, Sanae decided to raise the issue up to Reimu.

"Hey, Reimu? I think we are almost out of food," she said. Reimu swallowed her current mouthful.

"How are we out already?" She said confused. Meanwhile, the culprit finished her bowl and asked for a cup of tea. Sanae subconsciously poured it for her and set the teapot down. She turned back to Reimu and resumed talking to her.

"I don't really know why, but our food storage dipped a lot this week. It's kind of strange, to be honest."

"Ohhh, that might be because of me," Koishi said happily. She began to get up and leave. Anger flickered across Reimu's face as she consciously noticed the youkai getting up.

"Wait, you." Reimu grabbed the back of the shirt of youkai girl and pulled her into a gripping hug from behind. Koishi, for her part, struggled to get free.

"Sanae, this is why the food's been disappearing."

"Let me go!"

Unlike Reimu, who had the uncanny ability to detect even the sound of money dropping into her donation box, Sanae had a little more trouble focusing on Koishi.

"Oh! The younger Komeiji sister!" She exclaimed when she was able to. Reimu nodded and loosened her grip. Koishi bounded out of her captor's arms and turned around. Even as the girl stuck her tongue out at the red miko, they were forgetting about her being there.

"I guess we'll have to get a lot more food this time," Reimu said. Sanae thought a bit about what the other girl said and smiled.

"I guess so," she agreed, and they went back to eating. When they were done, Reimu took the dishes to the kitchen to wash and let Sanae rest a little. But as soon as she heard the red miko shut the running water off and place the last dish on the rack, Sanae got up and went to the kitchen.

Reimu was drying her hands on the kitchen towel when she felt two arms wrap around her waist.

"Hey, Reimu," Sanae said, her breath tickling her ear. "Do you want to go on a date?"

"Sanae!" Reimu started to squirm and then stopped.

"A date?" She asked, confused at what the word meant. The green-haired miko's smile, which Reimu couldn't see, grew wider. She pulled the other miko closer.

"Yes, a date. In the Outside World, couples would go on dates and do fun things together. I was thinking that, since you said we needed to get more food, we could go to the human village this afternoon on a date and then go shopping afterwards."

Sanae paused and nuzzled Reimu in the back of her neck.

"I would really like it if you came with me, Reimu," she said. "We don't really go out together other than to visit Suwako-sama and Kanako-sama ever so often."

"I…I…," Reimu stuttered into quietness. She froze up as thousand thoughts flashed through Reimu's head with increasing alarm.

Her first instinct was to panic. She would be going with Sanae to the village for the first time in months. Not that that was a bad thing, but the teasing from the other humans! She didn't know if she would be able to stand it again. And what if Aya was flying around the human village? Were they going to be followed around and put on the front page again? What were dates like? How was she going to…

Sanae's breasts pushed against Reimu's back.

"Reimu?" Sanae asked. All thinking instantly froze in the red miko's racing mind. The extremely soft weight and feeling of the other shrine maiden's large mounds slowly began to occupy all of her thoughts.

"I-I'll be ready in a bit," Reimu managed to say. Sanae beamed and hugged her one last time before heading towards their front sliding doors to wait. As soon as she was out of sight, Reimu did a little nervous dance, realized that she looked silly doing it, and stopped. She instead tried to breathe slowly and calm down.

The truth was, she also had been wanting to do something with Sanae for a while. But her nerves kept getting the best of her every time she tried to ask her green-haired companion out. Subsequently, there were many failed attempts over the past weeks in which Reimu would start to ask the blue miko and then do something else entirely. And it did not help that the past teasing from the other humans whenever she went shopping also weakened her resolve.

Reimu smiled faintly to herself; she didn't know if it was a good thing that Sanae was the more dominant and progressive person in their relationship. On one hand, Sanae knew how to persuade her. On the other hand, Sanae knew _exactly_ how to persuade her.

Regardless of what she thought, she needed to get ready. Reimu started to walk back to their room for a quick change of clothing, her heart pounding in anticipation of the next few hours.

.

.

.

…Thus bringing her to the current situation. Unbeknownst to her, Sanae's definition of a date was like that of a high school girl, with Reimu being the awkward boyfriend in tow. As soon as they landed in the village, Sanae pulled Reimu into a clothing store and started browsing the clothing. And so far, she had put on several outfits that made the red miko speechless (or at least near speechless).

"Reimu?" Reimu jerked out of her terrified stupor and saw that Sanae had come out again. She wore her normal shine maiden clothing again and looked content.

"Ah, are you done?" The green haired girl nodded. She raised up a bundle of clothing, and Reimu saw that it was the green summer dress.

"I really like this one, so I'm going to buy it," she said happily. Lightly humming, she walked towards the cashier to pay for it. Still numbed by the stares, Reimu trailed after her. Sanae paid for the dress with some of her money, and the cashier put the dress into a paper bag for her to carry. Once the exchange was complete, they exited the store. It looked like two o'clock in the afternoon now.

The miko couple began to walk through the streets of the village. As Reimu had feared, the other humans and youkai instantly noticed that the colorful pair were together instead of alone. However, instead of going up and immediately teasing them, they walked on with slight, knowing smiles on their faces. It puzzled Reimu, as it was the opposite reaction she was expecting. After a bit, she decided that she won't question why they weren't being teased and just thank the unidentified Hakurei kami that they were spared of it. She turned slightly to talk to Sanae.

"So, is this what people do on dates?" Reimu asked. The other girl nodded and intertwined her hand with one of Reimu's.

"It's not that bad, Reimu," Sanae said. "Many people do it all the time. You get to be with your loved one and spend some time with him or her."

"But don't we do that already?"

Sanae didn't reply, as she had spotted something. Reimu saw that it was a sweets café of some sort. There were several wooden tables outside of it, and it looked devoid of people. The wooden sign above the establishment read "Sweet Tooth."

"Well, yes, but a lot of people don't have that kind of luxury. And speaking of luxury. Are you hungry, Reimu?" The red miko paused, getting the hint.

"I guess I could go for a little snack before dinner," she said. Sanae smiled.

"Great."

Sanae led Reimu to the café, and they walked inside. It was a very dainty kind of place. There were more tables set up with some distance from each other, and many photos of Gensokyo's landscape hanged on the walls. At the back, there was an old woman managing the counter. A small girl wearing a white apron noticed them and came over.

"Hello, welcome to Sweet Tooth!" she said cheerily. Her eyes brightened.

"Sanae-oneesan!" The young girl ran up to the green-haired miko and hugged her. Sanae laughed and bent down to hug her back.

"Hi, Amy! It's good to see you again." Still holding the miko, Amy noticed Reimu.

"Oh, are you and her going to eat here?" Sanae nodded. The girl immediately scrambled away to get two menus. She gave them to Sanae and beamed.

"Sit anywhere you like. And call me when you want to order!"

"Thanks, Amy." Sanae patted the young waiter on the head and turned towards Reimu.

"Where do you want to sit, Reimu?"

Faced with a sudden decision, the shy, red miko hesitantly moved towards a table near the wall. The couple sat in their seats (with Sanae next to Reimu) and opened their menus. Upon opening hers, Reimu made a small sound, surprised at the number of items that she was presented with. There were many Japanese confectionery and a few Western sweets in the selection. It could almost put Sakuya Izayoi to shame with her own knowledge of desserts.

"Isn't this place nice?" Sanae said. "I met Amy and her grandmother a few weeks ago, when her grandmother was sick. After healing it with a small miracle, they invited me to come here. But I never had the time to go."

"Ah…"

The couple became silent for a few minutes, browsing through the pages. Reimu marveled and drooled at the pictures of each item, despite not knowing some of them. Eventually, she knew what she wanted. She lightly tapped Sanae's hand.

"I'm ready." Sanae smiled and waved at Amy. She noticed and bounced over to them.

"Hiya! What are you getting?"

"I'll have the tiramisu," Sanae ordered.

"The strawberry parfait for me," Reimu said. Amy wrote them down on her notepad and smiled. She gathered up the menus and bowed.

"I'll come right back with your desserts!" The girl replied, and she went to the old woman behind the counter. Reimu watched them chat for a bit, and the grandmother disappeared into the back. She soon came back out with a tray of food. Amy took it and brought their order to Sanae and Reimu. She gently placed each of the desserts in front of them and bowed again.

"Please enjoy, oneesans!" She exclaimed, and she scurried away to give them some privacy.

Reimu picked up her spoon and scooped up a small portion or her parfait. She ate it and made a small, complimenting noise.

"This is really good!" She exclaimed. Sanae lightly dug into her tiramisu and made a similar noise.

"I know, right?"

After a few more bites of the sweet and delicious dessert, Reimu had a sudden idea to tease Sanae. She spooned out a good portion.

"Hey, Sanae." The green-haired girl turned her head at the mention of her name.

"Mmm?" The red miko smiled and help up the spoon.

"Ahh…." It took a few seconds for Sanae to realize what she was doing. She quickly swallowed her current piece of the tiramisu.

"R-Reimu!" She said, flustered by the offer. She looked around nervously. Luckily, it didn't seem that Amy or her grandmother noticed, as both of their backs were turned and busy with something. Sanae turned back to Reimu with a slightly nervous but happy expression.

"Ahhh." She ate the spoonful of food, leaning over to not spill any of it. She gushed at the taste.

"Mmm!" Reimu smiled and returned back to her dish. But it was not over; not wanting to be outdone by the red miko, Sanae sliced a piece of her cake and also raised the piece up carefully.

"Reimu?"

"Hmm?"

"Ahh…" Sanae said, emphasizing the slice. Reimu blushed hard, realizing that it was her turn now to take the bite. And, unluckily for her, someone had noticed. She heard a giggle, indicating that Amy had noticed them. The young girl quickly averted her eyes once she saw that the red miko caught her staring. Reimu looked back at Sanae, who had an amicable and patient expression on her face. Steeling her nerves, she awkwardly ate the piece of tiramisu. It tasted like soft and heavenly chocolate cake.

For the rest of the meal, Reimu and Sanae took turns feeding each other. Reimu was grateful that there weren't any other humans in the store, else she didn't think that she would have been able to power through. As soon as the last bites of the desserts were eaten, Amy came over and cleared away the dishes. After giving them to her grandmother, she walked back to them and hugged Sanae.

"Thank you for eating here, Sanae-oneesan!"

"It was lovely, Amy. Thank you," Sanae said. She took out some money from a hidden pocket in her shrine skirt and gave it to the affectionate girl. Their meal paid, Sanae hugged Amy one last time, and both she and Reimu got up and left the sweet cafe.

"That was really good," Reimu praised once they were outside. She was starting to get the idea of dating, although it made her feel more or less embarrassed inside. Sanae nodded in assent and took her hand.

"It really is one of its kind," she said.

.

.

For the latter part of the afternoon, Reimu and Sanae walked around the human village, enjoying the time outside and being together. Sanae knew the layout like the back of her hand, and they went through many streets and alleyways that the red miko didn't know existed. It soon became apparent that Sanae went through them regularly, as many of the humans walked up to talk to her about various things, such as cured illnesses and faith. It made Reimu feel a little awkward standing as they chatted to the green-haired girl, although they did acknowledge the red miko first. But because of their date, Sanae briefly greeted and politely turned them away, promising to return to talk to them another day.

In a way, Reimu had the chance to see another side of Sanae outside of the shrine. She loved to talk with other people and bring smiles to their face. It was unlike her own self; Reimu was so used to the youkai and being alone, that she seemingly felt much more comfortable around them than around other humans (and it wouldn't be so farfetched to say that she outright avoided them unless they were there to give her donations). And yet here they were, together in a relationship despite being colorful opposites of each other.

At around 5p.m., the miko couple decided to head towards the marketplace to shop for food. Sanae led the way, as Reimu was less familiar with her current surroundings. Eventually, they arrived the square of the Dragon God Statue. It stood formidably in the middle, its white eyes judging all in its field of view. Reimu often used it as a place to land, as it was a large landmark of the human village that you could see from the sky. Passing by it, they soon exited the square on the other side. After a few more streets, they finally came upon the marketplace, where all kinds of food, liquor, and merchandise were being sold.

Upon entering the district, Reimu and Sanae were met with the loud sounds of bartering and sales. As it was close to closing hours, there were still many humans about and rushing to get the last deals of the day. The miko couple carefully picked their way through the crowd and browsed the stalls for their food. After about half an hour, they were done shopping, carrying a few more bags than normal that would last them for a few months (or at least feed more unwanted mouths). They even had received several generous discounts from the venders on their next shopping run as commemoration for coming together for the first time. It was, all in all, a very satisfying end to a wonderful day.

But Reimu felt a little bad. Ending the date with shopping sounded…lame, and Sanae had put quite a bit of energy into their date. Even if the green-haired miko was happy with it, Reimu wanted their first date to end in a better place. The Dragon God statue floated up into her mind as they walked clear of the human crowd.

"Um, Sanae, there is a place I want to go before we leave," She said awkwardly, unsure of how to put the words together. Sanae's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Oh? Where?" She said.

"Um, it's a surprise." The other shrine maiden's expression turned curious, but she nodded.

"Alright, but we should make it quick," she said, indicating that the food that they carried was perishable.

The couple traced back their steps to the square with the Dragon God Statue. As it was approaching dinner time, the area was almost devoid of people, and many of the remaining humans gave wide berth of the statue. Upon seeing it, Sanae laughed.

"Wow, Reimu. If you wanted to come here for a bit, we should have done so before getting the food."

"I, I thought it would be more romantic," The red miko said truthfully. Sanae looked at her and then smiled sincerely.

"Indeed, the perfect way to end a date."

They walked over to where the sculpted icon of the Dragon God stood. Now that she was near it, she could see the well-worn stone and granularity from exposure of the weather. And even up close, it still looked foreboding and imposing. For a few moments, the two girls stared at the statue, lost in their own thoughts about it. Finally, the green-haired girl turned slyly to face Reimu.

"Well, Reimu. You know what happens next, right?" Reimu nodded, all too aware now of what follows in dating. She moved her bags around to have a little more room to move. And then she leaned in to kiss Sanae full on the lips.

They savored in the kiss, each feeling the soft flesh of the other girl. All too quickly, though, they realized where they were and broke off. They both giggled nervously, feelings as though they just committed a crime in front of the almighty Dragon God. But it probably wouldn't have minded; after all, this was Gensokyo. And without another word, they took off and flew back to the Hakurei Shrine to make dinner.

.

.


	5. Chapter 4: Interlude

**Chapter 4.5**

 **-One Month after Chapter 4**

Two Drunk Mikos and a Conversation

.

.

 _"Hey, Sanae, can you pour me another cup?" -R_

 _"Sure, Reimu." -S_

 _"Thank you." -R_

 _"…Ah…this is the best…" –R_

 _"Maybe I'll have another cup, too…" –S_

 _"…Mmm! I just can't get enough of this taste!" –S_

 _"I know right? Suika gave me this bottle earlier today." -R_

 _"…" -R_

 _"…" -S_

 _"It's so peaceful tonight." -R_

 _"It is." -S_

 _"No fairies, no incident. No Marisa, too." -R_

 _"Kind of a miracle, no?" -S_

 _"Aahahaha!" -R_

 _"Ehehe!" -S_

 _"But really, we hadn't had time to ourselves lately." -R_

 _"Yea. It seemed like the youkai partied nearly every week this month at your shrine." -S_

 _"Nearly every day, is more like." -R_

 _"You know, I always wondered why they come to your shrine and not mine for parties." -S_

 _"Probably because they know I can't boot them all out. At least your Goddesses seemed to be well respected among them." -R_

 _"I guess. But I know that Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama love a good party." -S_

 _"…" -R_

 _"…" -S_

 _"Is there anything we have to do tomorrow?" -R_

 _"Hmm. I think it would be nice to clean the kitchen." -S_

 _"Didn't we just clean it last week?" -R_

 _"We did, but after yesterday's party, I think someone tried to hide empty sake bottles in there." -S_

 _"Ugh, those youkai…Wait, I don't remember seeing them today." -R_

 _"Oh, that's because I put them in the trash bin already. I don't know what else they did, though. But it'll probably be fast to do." -S_

 _"Ok." -R_

 _"…" –S_

 _"…" -R_

 _"…Reimu, have you ever thought about…having a family?" -S_

 _"Pfff-what!?" -R_

 _"Ah, never mind, I never said that!" -S_

 _"Wait, wait, Sanae, what do you mean?" -R_

 _"…Well, I was thinking that, one day, I would like us to get married…" -S_

 _"..Uhuh…?" -R_

 _"…And I thought, when we do, we could have, maybe, a child…" -S_

 _"…But aren't we…you know…girls?" -R_

 _"Well, we could adopt a kid! Or, maybe I can…make a miracle so one of us could…bear one somehow…" -S_

 _"…Um, I don't know what to say…" -R_

 _"…Please forget I said anything about it…" -S_

 _"…No, it's just…" -R_

 _"…" -S_

 _"…" -R_

 _"…" –S_

 _"…Sanae?" -R_

 _"…Hmm?" -S_

 _"…Long before I ever met you, I believed that I would be alone for the rest of my life. As the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, my role was to exterminate youkai. But, people feared everything and anything to do with them. And so, I was left alone by most of the other humans._

 _…I like to think that I was more than prepared to accept it. It was, after all, the role I was born into and trained for. But, there were times when I felt immense loneliness and betrayal." -R_

 _"…Reimu…" -S_

 _"…At some point, a scarlet, red mist appeared and covered Gensokyo in a thick haze. Not long after, Winter refused to end, and the Netherworld seemed to be the only place bursting with Spring. Incident after incident started to appear, and for every one of them, I went out to solve them. It was like someone or something demanded that I do more than my fair amount of work, and for nothing in return." -R_

 _"…" -S_

 _"After a while, I felt something change about me. I began to think these incidents were actually blessings in disguise. The youkai I beat in danmaku started coming to the shrine, not caring that I exterminate them for a living. Although I threatened to expel and exterminate them properly, they never minded me telling them that. They were loud, rude, and obnoxious…but they kept me company._

 _…If it were any other day, I know I wouldn't say this. But I'm grateful that the youkai come here. Sometimes I feel like…I don't know how to act around humans anymore…" -R_

 _"…Reimu…" -S_

 _"…I'm sorry…" -R_

 _"No, it's okay. This was something you had to tell someone." -S_

 _"…No, not just anyone. I wanted to tell you." -R_

 _"…Sanae, what you said about having a family. I think now…I guess I wouldn't mind having one…if it will still mean being with you." –R_

 _"…Please stay with me forever, Sanae…" -R_

 _"I will, Reimu. Forever and ever." -S_

 _._

 _._


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Reimu, watch out!"

 _Wham!_

 _"_ Sanae!"

.

.

Eirin Yagokoro picked up her stethoscope and brushed her long, white hair back to wear the instrument. With an immortal expert's medical knowledge and well-practiced hands, she proceeded to examine the green haired girl lying in front of her, moving her stethoscope over her body to listen for her breathing and heartbeat. Behind her, Reimu sat in her appointed chair, anxious for the diagnostic.

It had been a simple accident. Nearly half an hour ago, Reimu had reached up to take down a box from a high shelf in their closet. But while taking it down, she shifted awkwardly under the weight of it, and her hands knocked over a few large and heavy boxes next to them. Sanae, who had been next to her, pushed her out of the way but was struck in the head by them. When she didn't move from the floor, Reimu went into full panic mode.

The red miko had never flown so fast in her life while carrying another person. At first, she had considered going to the human village for help, but she didn't know anyone who was a healer or a doctor. However, she knew that Eintei boasted the best care available to both humans and youkai, and so she went there. Despite being deeply nestled in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, Reimu flew over the bamboo canopy and spotted the place from above.

Without forewarn, Reimu burst through the doors and into the home of the Lunarians and demanded for Eirin. Frightened by her appearance, the rabbits and Reisen immediately did so. And after a few frantic minutes of explaining the situation and moving towards the hospital portion of the mansion, Reimu now awaited the fate of Sanae, fearing for the wellbeing of her lover.

Eventually, the red and blue dressed doctor took out the stethoscope's earpieces and laid the instrument down on the counter next to her. She turned to face Reimu.

"I'll need you to step outside for a bit while I examine her brain," Eirin said emotionlessly.

A little bit taken back, Reimu did what she was asked and closed the door behind her. It was very quiet in the hallway; evidently, the hospital was not busy at the moment. Reimu felt tears began to well up in her eyes, and she shook her head to get rid of them.

 _It'll be alright, it'll be alright_ , she thought to herself. But her fear lingered. Finally, the door opened again.

"Ok, you can come back in," Eirin called out, and Reimu went in as instructed. She saw Eirin holding and looking at several illuminated pictures. As Reimu closed the door, the Lunarian put her pictures down and pivoted in her seat to face Reimu.

"Are you ready to hear this?"

Reimu nodded.

"Alright," Eirin said. "As far as I can tell, her sensory nervous system is undamaged. She, at least, retains the senses that I could test. Her eye coordination is intact, and she responds appropriately to physical contact. She reacts to noises, and I would also wager that her smell and taste senses are unaffected. And after running a full body scan, I could detect no other anomalies, bruises, or damage on her body. Therefore, the good news is that there is nothing wrong with her physical wellbeing."

Although her heart jumped a bit in relief, Reimu immediately picked up on the insinuation.

"And the bad news?" Reimu asked fearfully.

Eirin leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temple a little, unsure of how to give the next part in an understandable way. She steam ahead anyways.

"A mild concussion, of course, is not without some problems. I've determined that a part of her brain may have been affected. Her overall neuron system is mostly unharmed, but there were damages to the cognitive portions that translate and filter the stimuli information from her sensory neurons. When firing, the executive functions of her brain were functioning abnormally and inconsistently. And upon comparing her brain from now and when she first came to Gensokyo, I've determined that they are not the same anymore. Any natural development already taken in to account, of course."

"Meaning?" Reimu said, confused by all the terminology.

"…In other words, she lost her common sense," Eirin said professionally.

Reimu stared dumbly at her. She opened and closed her mouth, shocked at what she just heard. A part of her rejected the diagnosis. But she also trusted Eirin (enough) to accept it.

"She, she at least remembers things, right?" Reimu choked out. _Remembers me, you mean_ , she thought internally.

"I believe so. The portions of the brain responsible for memories are fine."

Reimu slumped against the wall of the room and dropped her head a little. She was both relieved and saddened that Sanae was both ok and not ok.

"So, what now?"

Eirin sensed the red miko's lingering unease and smiled.

"She will be waking up soon. I don't think your normal activities will be disrupted because of this, but you might have to adjust for her new personality."

"However, I will have Reisen look into creating a cure to return her back to her normal state," she added. "Medical cases such as these are very rare but not unheard of. But it is unfortunate that Eintei does not carry the necessary ingredients at the moment. You can expect one to be ready in a week."

Reimu's spirits raised a little at hearing that.

"T-Thank you, Eirin," Reimu said, relief starting to flood through her heart. "How much do I pay you for this?"

To her surprise, Eirin shook her head.

"Medical examinations are free. When Reisen and I create the cure, I suppose some payment will be in due. But for now, I think there is little to worry about." With that said, she got up to go. Just as she opened the door, a thought crossed her mind, and the lunarian doctor turned back to the red miko.

"When you are done, please leave in a more respectable manner," she stated, and she finally left the room, closing the door behind her.

Reimu walked over to the chair that Eirin was sitting in and sat down on it. Then she pivoted around to face Sanae and waited for her to wake up.

The minutes ticked by as she watched the white and blue clothed body steadily rise up and down. Despondent, Reimu grasped Sanae's open hand and held it. Sanae stirred a little from the sudden contact of warmth, and she suddenly opened her eyes.

"Wha?"

Seeing the green-haired girl wake up, Reimu's heart lifted.

"Sanae, you're awake!"

"Reimu?" Sanae said uncertainly. She gently sat up and winced, feeling her head. "Where am I?"

"Eintei's hospital. You got a mild concussion."

"Oh, I did?" Sanae looked unsteadily around. Reimu grew a little uneasy.

"Sanae?"

"Hmm?"

"…It's nothing," The red miko said. "Eirin said you are…mostly fine, and that we can leave when we are ready."

"Uhm, ok." Sanae accepted, and she move around to put her feet onto the floor. She tentatively tried getting up, using Reimu as support.

"Woah!" Sanae stumbled down onto the floor, bringing Reimu down with her. "Aha…I guess I'm still not ready."

"Take your time," Reimu encouraged.

It was a little while before Sanae felt fully ready to stand and walk, and together they left the ward. As requested by Eirin, they walked back to the mansion's entrance and tried to not disturb the various activities happening around them. Reimu felt Sanae look at each passing rabbit with surprise and excitement.

"They are soo cute!" She squealed. "I want one at the shrine!"

"Er no, that's probably a bad idea. Eirin will get mad at us if we brought one back," Reimu quickly intervened, thinking of a fast excuse.

Sanae's shoulders dropped a bit, but that did not stop her from staring at them. Eventually, they reached the front doors. The white rabbit Tewi and Reisen were standing there to send them off. Reisen bowed quickly and respectfully upon seeing them, but Tewi just stood there and picked her nose.

"Master just told me. Your medicine should be ready in a week," the lunar rabbit said.

"Thank you," Reimu replied, and she made to move pass them. However, she felt herself unable to move any further from her spot. She was stopped by Sanae's hand, and she turned around to see the green-haired girl now gapping at Reisen.

"Wow…"

"Er, Sanae?"

"Hmm? Oh, right!" At the mention of her name, Sanae quickly stopped staring and bowed.

"Thank you for having us!" She blurted out, and then unexpectedly, she let go of Reimu's hand. And before anyone could react, she went over and kissed Reisen on the cheek.

"Kya!"

Reisen instantly fainted. Tewi looked at the fallen lunar rabbit, shocked and confused. Before they could make more of a scene, Reimu quickly grabbed Sanae's hand again and spirited her out through the doors and into the late morning sunlight. After putting some distance between themselves and Eintei, Reimu slowed down her pace and then turned furiously towards the other girl.

"What in Kami's name was that?!" She yelled.

Sanae looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you kissed Reisen on the cheek!"

Still, Sanae looked confused.

"But isn't that how I usually say goodbye to you?"

"That isn't how you-" Reimu started to say and then stopped.

 _Oh right, no common sense,_ she thought. Her anger dully dissipated away as she remembered why Sanae acted she did, and she looked at the curious girl with slightly pained eyes, trying to decide what to do with her.

"With me, it's fine," Reimu finally said. "But for other people, a wave or a bow is enough."

Sanae nodded happily.

"Ok!"

Suddenly feeling very tired, Reimu took Sanae's hand again.

"Ready to go home?"

Sanae nodded, and they took off to fly back to the shrine. As they flew, Reimu recalled what Eirin had said to her.

 _I don't think your normal activities will be disrupted because of this, but you might have to adjust for her new personality,_ Eirin warned _._

Reimu sighed out loud. Not even half an hour since they left Eintei, and it already felt like there were one too many problems on her hands. But, she was an optimist. Only a week of this, and then Sanae would be back to normal.

 _Maybe things will be alright,_ Reimu thought, and her heart lifted a little.

"I wonder what Reimu looks like in bunny ears," Sanae said aloud, and she giggled.

 _Or not_.

.

.

The first few days back were hard. Despite what Eirin had told her, Sanae's lack of common sense definitely affected their normal routines, and not in a small way. For instance, as they had been unable to clean the shrine grounds before the accident, Reimu and Sanae spent a part of the day cleaning away the leaves. In reality, though, Reimu was the one who had to clean away all of the fallen foliage. While Sanae did clear a particular spot on the shrine grounds, she didn't sensibly brush the leaves into a single pile. And when it came to lunchtime, Sanae offered to cook fried vegetables and rice for lunch. Reimu reluctantly accepted, but as she had feared, the green-haired girl didn't manage the temperature correctly, and the food was burnt to crisps. That same afternoon, the green-haired miko refused to let Reimu leave from her side, even when she needed to go to the bathroom.

It was one new annoyance and aggravation after another.

Reimu became glad when nighttime fell, as things seemed to quiet down. In her new state, Sanae seemed to lose a lot more energy after a day of constant activity, and she would be unable to stay awake by ten o'clock p.m. And exhausted from trying to get used to the new Sanae, Reimu would turn in as well and go to bed with her. She would instantly fall asleep whenever she felt the soft and inviting futon from under her, and like a loyal pet to her master, Sanae would curl up next to the red miko and also fall asleep.

.

.

"Eh? She lost her common sense, ze?" Marisa exclaimed, astonished. Alice, who was by the witch's side, merely sipped her cup of tea.

It's been three days since Sanae had lost her common sense. In order to give the green-haired girl something to do while they talked in private, Reimu asked Alice to hide her dolls in several places and make Sanae find them. As soon as the delighted girl was out of sight, Reimu let her fatigue show through to the two magic users, sighing and laying her head down on the table. The tired, red miko raised her head slightly and nodded.

"So, what's it like for you two now?"

Reimu coldly glared at her friend, as though it were not obvious enough. Alice put her cup down and cleared her throat.

"If you want, we could try to fix it with magic-"

"Oh, right we could do that!" Marisa said brightly.

"-but nothing can cure stupidity, I'm afraid," Alice finished.

"Da-ze?"

Reimu weakly smiled at the other couple.

"Thank you, but Eirin said she would make a cure for us already," Reimu said.

Alice nodded, understanding. Her doll, Shanghai, floated over and patted Reimu on the head. Just then Sanae barged into the room carrying a number of dolls in her arms. Reimu recognized Hourai among them.

"Here you go! I found them all!" She said triumphantly, and she unceremoniously dumped them onto the table. Upon landing on the table, the dolls propped themselves back on their two feet and then bowed towards Sanae. Alice gave the beaming girl a warm smile in return.

"Thanks, Sanae."

.

.

After an hour, Marisa and Alice felt that it was time to go. Reimu saw them off and waved goodbye as they flew back to their home in the Forest of Magic. As she let her arm fall, she felt another two arms slide around her waist.

"Aw, they already left?" Sanae's soft voice murmured. Reimu felt Sanae's breath tickle her ear a little.

"They had some things to do," Reimu explained. She turned around carefully to face the other girl.

"Actually, I was thinking that we could go and visit Kanako and Suwako today."

Reimu thought it would be a good idea to let the Moriya Goddesses know what happened to their shrine maiden. They were, after all, the closest thing to parents for Sanae. Plus, she wasn't fond of the idea that they could drop a surprise visit on them, find out Sanae had lost her common sense, and then cause a much larger scene than necessary (e.g., destroying her shrine).

At the mention of the Moriya Goddesses, Sanae's eyes lit up.

"Great, I'll bring them something!" She said excitedly, and she scurried off to the kitchen to prepare…something. Reimu leaned against the wall and sighed. Only four more days.

.

.

"Eh?! Sanae lost her common sense?" Kanako exclaimed.

Half an hour or so later, and Reimu was sitting with the Moriya Goddesses at their low table in the Moriya shrine. And like previously, Reimu quietly got Suwako to persuade Sanae to go sweep the shrine grounds so she could talk to them in private. Sanae's gift, which was a haphazard mess of sandwiches, rested neatly against a bowl of plums in the middle of the table.

"Well, that explains why she greeted us so strangely today," Suwako commented. Reimu bowed over the table in apology.

"Our Sanae…" Kanako repeated in shock.

"So, what's gonna happen?" The froggy Goddess inquired. The situation with Sanae did not seem to bother her as much as it did to the other Goddess.

"Eirin, the Lunarian doctor, is going to make a cure to restore her back to her former state that will be ready in a week. For now, I guess I'm just trying to adjust to it. It's just so…different from her before," Reimu confessed. Suwako nodded.

"It can't be that bad, right? I mean, she _is_ still our Sanae…" Kanako said, still clinging on to a previous memory of her wind priestess. At that moment, the girl in question reappeared, apparently having finished cleaning(?) the Moriya shrine grounds.

"I'm baaackk! Hey, fruits! (lol)," Sanae annouced, and she picked out a large plum from the bowl in the middle of the table for herself. She sat down next to Reimu and started to eat the succulent fruit.

"…That is pretty bad," Kanako finally assented.

"It does get a little hard predicting her thought process," Reimu admitted. Sanae paid no attention to what was being said about her and continued eating. Suwako watched her for a bit before speaking up.

"Hey, Sanae? Do you want to stay with us for the next few days?" Sanae froze mid-bite and then shook her head. She put her half-eaten plum down on the table and then wrapped her arms around Reimu.

"As much as I would love to, I think I'm happiest when I'm with Reimu," she said brightly. Despite herself, Reimu blushed hard.

"Geez, Sanae." Suwako laughed and then leaned back a little in her seat.

"Definitely sounds like no end to your troubles, Reimu."

.

.

For a change of pace, Reimu (and thereby also Sanae) decided to stay at the Moriya shrine for the rest of the afternoon, sleep there for the night, and then leave in the morning. Given the current situation, Reimu largely helped the Goddesses around at their shrine. Admittedly, though, there wasn't too much work for her to do; the shrine grounds were well cared for because of their faith-followers, and the actual household required little in terms of cleaning. But she did help place a new food offering on the main Shrine altar and burn the numerous piles of _Bunbunmaru_ newspapers that had been stacking up in the foyer.

For dinner, the goddesses cooked Sanae's favorite dishes and provided an ample supply of sake with it (Like the oni, they enjoyed alcohol with every meal). Unfortunately, they had underestimated Sanae's condition. After her insistence on her fourth bottle of sake of the meal, Reimu decided that enough was enough and took it away from her. Upon realizing that her bottle was gone, the drunk girl began to cry, and Reimu reluctantly gave it back to her (with some glares from the other drunk goddesses dangerously stabbing into her). Sanae instantly cheered up, but instead of continuing to drink, she set the bottle aside and clung to Reimu, refusing to let go of her and giggling madly.

Sanae finally passed out around eight o'clock, relieving the red miko of her ordeal. Kanako carried the girl to her old room, and Reimu helped Suwako clean the table and wash the dishes.

"I'll admit, it's so strange seeing Sanae like that," Suwako said after a while. "Even as a kid, she was very kind and receptive of others."

She paused and laughed a little.

"I guess we can thank ourselves that she's only like that for a week."

"…I guess. But it doesn't make me worry any less about her," Reimu replied back.

"Me and you both. I wonder how it came about, though."

Reimu didn't answer, and she started to wash a little slower. The frog goddess soon noticed the red miko slight change in behavior. She finished washing her current plate and then hugged the saddened girl. Startled, Reimu looked down at her.

"Hey, it's not totally your fault that things happened as they did. Sanae wanted to protect you," Suwako said, correctly guessing what had happened. Tears started to well up in Reimu's eyes, despite herself. She quickly wiped them away with her sleeve (as she had a soapy plate in her hands) and awkwardly hugged the goddess back in comfort.

.

.

Reimu stayed up with the other Goddesses for an hour, conversing with them about how life recently was, how the wolf and tengu youkai were acting, and how was their faith collection. But she was soon yawning, feeling the fatigue of the day win her over. She got up from her seat.

"I'm going to bed now," She said, and she headed towards the hallway of the home.

"Good night. Try not to disturb Sanae too much," Suwako lightly teased. Likewise, Kanako mumbled good night.

Reimu slowly made her way towards Sanae's old room. On previous visits, she had left a few spare sets of her shrine maiden clothing in cases like these when they stayed over. Once she was there, she opened the door slowly and peeked in.

When Reimu had first seen Sanae's old room, the first thought that came to her head was "lake." Painted in complementing swaths of blue and green, the room gave off a feeling of a calm, underwater atmosphere. A number of snake and frog dolls rested on a shelf on one side of the wall, and a desk, dresser, and bookcase filled with many Outside World textbooks and regular books faced them on the other side. On the far wall, there was a double bed (put in for Reimu and Sanae to sleep together in) and a window that looked over the forests of the Youkai Mountain. Currently, Sanae was tucked in and resting peacefully.

Quietly and quickly, Reimu nipped into the room and rummaged through the dresser for a set of sleepwear. Locating them, she closed the drawer and prepared to exit the room again. Just as she crossed the doorway, Reimu heard Sanae stirred a little.

"Nnn…Reimu…"

The red miko froze and turned back. But the girl had only spoken out of her sleep. Thinking for a moment, Reimu went back and lightly brushed aside Sanae's hair on her forehead.

"I love you so much," she whispered, and Sanae seemed to relax a little better. Reimu stood up and finally closed the door behind her, ready to take a good, long bath.

.

.

The miko couple took their time waking up and eating breakfast, and a good part of the next morning had passed before they felt ready to leave. They now stood outside on the grounds with the two goddesses giving their goodbyes.

"Come back soon and visit us," Suwako said, giving the red miko a warm, froggy hug.

"We will," Reimu replied, smiling. Sanae knelt and gave Suwako a bone-crushing goodbye hug, which she didn't seem to mind at all. Kanako gave Reimu an awkward embrace and Sanae a loving one. Their goodbyes all done, Reimu and Sanae held hands and took off to fly back to the Hakurei Shrine.

.

.

Upon arriving at their destination, Reimu noticed that there were a few leaves strewn about on the shrine grounds.

"I'm going to clean the grounds first," she said to Sanae.

The green-haired girl nodded. They lightly landed in front of the donation box, and Sanae went off to the side to enter the home. After a brief check in the donation box (which was empty), Reimu picked up the broom beside it and started to sweep around. As she had already swept the day before, it didn't take her long to clear away the fallen debris. Satisfied, she put the broom back in its usual place and went inside to find Sanae.

Reimu found her in their room, concentrating on something. She looked over her shoulder and saw that she had several of her swimsuits laid out. Sanae noticed her looking and turned around.

"Hi Reimu!"

"Er, hey," Reimu said. "What are you doing?"

Sanae tilted her head and smiled.

"I think I want to spend the day at the lake today!"

"Uh, ok." Reimu stated. "Why though?"

"Because I just realized that Summer ends in a few days, and I want to spend a day somewhere where there's water!" Sanae said cheerily.

Reimu frowned. She didn't like the idea that, in her current state, Sanae would be alone at the lake. And while it was isolated, there were a few very dangerous youkai living very close by in a certain scarlet red mansion. But her immediate fears were assuaged in the next few moments. As she was thinking, Reimu suddenly felt Sanae's hands around hers.

"You'll come with me to the lake, right?"

"…Of course," Reimu affirmed, giving in to her worries.

"Yay!"

.

.

An hour later, and Reimu was lightly floating above the Misty Lake and directly under the noon sun. Just seconds earlier, Sanae had dove down to put their things on an open patch of grass. Reimu watched as the fairies scattered upon seeing the green-haired miko, fearing that it was an extermination. A bluish fairy with icy crystal wings lingered a little longer and had actually thrown a few danmaku at her (which, luckily for Sanae, missed) before being pulled away by a green-haired fairy with a side ponytail. Meanwhile, Sanae, who had been oblivious of her intrusion, had found a pleasing patch of grass and landed there. She waved up to Reimu.

Reimu sighed and flew down to help her. Soon, she reached the spot. The place had a good view of the lake, but it was also in plain view of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Reimu hoped that they wouldn't be noticed too much.

They began setting up their place, spreading out a large blanket over the grass. As they had planned on staying for lunch and the afternoon, Reimu had prepared a picnic basket with half a dozen sandwiches, a few thermoses of tea and water, and some light snacks such as rice crackers.

Unfortunately, she had forgotten that the mist floated in at noon, and soon they couldn't see beyond a couple of meters of themselves. Instead of worrying about it, though, the miko couple decided to eat lunch and wait for the mist to dissipate a little. They sat down and got themselves comfortable. Reimu opened her basket and took out two of her sandwiches, passing one to Sanae.

"Itadakimasu!"

Sanae bit down into her sandwich and made a pleasing sound.

"Mmm!"

Reimu smiled and bit into hers, savoring the taste as well. They each had a second sandwich afterwards. As they ate, they watched the mist crawl slowly around them and over the lake. The sun was still hot enough to pierce through, and so they did not feel the chill of the watery blanket around them.

Finishing off her second sandwich, Reimu took a drink out of her thermos of tea and sighed blissfully. Sanae soon finished eating hers and then held out her hands to Reimu.

"Can I have a thermos?" The red miko rummaged around a little in the basket and then passed a blue thermos of water to her.

"Thank you!" Sanae said, and she opened it up and drank about half of the liquid inside. She burped loudly.

"I'm gonna go swim now!" She said, starting to get up. Reimu noticed and quickly stopped her.

"Ah, wait a while for your food to digest! Otherwise you'll cramp up while swimming," Reimu said. She had no idea how she knew that, but it seemed like common sense. Sanae started to pout a little, but she did as she was told.

It was a painful ordeal (for Sanae), but a necessary one. Reimu, who was an expert at lazing around, didn't mind waiting for the minutes to pass by. However, Sanae fidgeted the whole time, looking at Reimu at the corner of her eyes ever so often in a plea to go. The mist rolled over time, and soon, Reimu was able to see more of the lake and the bright, yellow silhouette of the sun. Finally, Reimu decided that it was a good enough time to enjoy the water.

"Are you ready to go in?" Sanae jumped to her feet.

"Yep!"

Sanae began taking off her shrine clothing, and Reimu started to do the same. Before they left, they had changed into their swimwear. Sanae chose a plain white bikini to wear. Unfortunately for Reimu, she didn't own any swimsuit or bikini, so instead, she stripped down to just her breast wraps and a flowery white bikini bottom from Sanae. As soon as her red shrine skirt was off, her hand was instantly grabbed and pulled towards the lake's edge.

"W-wait, Sanae!" But Sanae did not wait, and she jumped right into water.

"Eeek!"

 _Splash!_

"Waaa, cold!" Sanae exclaimed. Dripping from head to toe, Reimu shivered from the sudden shock of coldness.

"Y-you could've warned me!" She said angrily, but Sanae merely laughed and dove underwater.

Sanae was like a bundle of never ending energy. While Reimu tried to stay closer to the shore, the green-haired girl went everywhere, wading in the shallow parts and swimming in the deeper portions. But she always tried to get Reimu to be with her. At times, she would manage to persuade the red miko to swim with her, and they would dive down to explore the underwater environment. They also played in the shallows, lightly splashing one another as if in a battle of watery danmaku.

Of course, their antics were not without attention. Eventually, Reimu spotted the mermaid Wakasagihime peeking from the middle of the lake. As soon as she saw the red miko looking at her, though, she quickly dove back down, the last sight of her being the tell-tale fishtail. A few fairies also presently came back to the lake, but they stayed far away from them and hid in the trees near the lake's waterfronts. However, after watching them for a while, a certain blue among them decided that she had had enough, and she sprung out from her hiding place. She flew above Sanae and inhaled deeply.

"Hey! This is our lake!" Cirno yelled at the top of her lungs. The other fairy Daiyousei fluttered next to her, terrified that her friend had just confronted two of the incident solvers. Sanae looked up curiously.

"It is?"

"Yea!"

"C-Cirno, I don't think this a good idea," Daiyousei stammered.

Sanae had put a finger to her chin and then smiled.

"How do we know it's your lake?" Stepping right into the trap, Cirno belted out her answer.

"Because I said so!"

"But, I can say that it's also _my_ lake, and it would be mine, right?"

"Uh…" Cirno looked confused for a second. Sanae clapped her hands.

"I know! Instead of saying whose lake it is, how about a danmaku battle?"

Upon hearing the word danmaku, Cirno puffed out her chest.

"You're on! I'm the strongest!"

Reimu sighed and swam back to their picnic blanket to dry off and wait. She could already see the outcome.

Or so she had thought.

The battle of a lifetime began between stupid and no common sense. And it was extremely unbearable to watch. Sanae seemed to have retained her combat potential, and she was relatively able to dodge in and out of Cirno's ice crystals and spell cards. But Reimu could see that she was struggling to hit the fast and child-size fairy, aiming where she had been only seconds earlier. Similarly, Cirno was just spraying danmaku everywhere, not bothering to aim at her opponent. In fact, Reimu could easily describe how the battle was going, as it was that slow.

Cirno fired a stream of icy crystals. Sanae dodged and returned fire with a burst of blue stars. Cirno moved out of the way and fired another wave of projectiles. It missed, and Sanae is now trying, and failing, to score a hit.

It was truly a unique danmaku battle ( _one that would take a lifetime to finish_ , Reimu thought wryly). Daiyousei sat a little ways from her, both nervous for her friend and wanting to cheer for her to win. Reimu stifled a large yawn, and then she heard a voice speak next to her.

"Ara, now isn't this a sight?"

Reimu turned towards the voice and saw a small girl wearing a pink dress and mobcap. A white-haired maid held a parasol above the girl's head. Upon seeing them, Daiyousei squeaked and fled for the trees behind her.

"Remilia and Sakuya," Reimu said. The vampire bared her fangs in reply, and the maid smiled politely.

"I really didn't expect you to be here, Reimu," Remilia said coolly. "You look…out of place." The red miko shrugged.

"Speak for yourself. I didn't fancy you out here as well in the hot sun."

Remilia grimly smiled.

"Well, I guess you could say that a certain red miko who wasn't wearing her normal attire AND wasn't exterminating everything on sight attracted my attention."

Reimu leaned back, unfazed by her description.

"Sanae wanted to come here," she said simply. Remilia turned and watched the blue and green spectacle for a bit.

"Hmm…" she said. She looked back at Sakuya.

"Sakuya, this is boring. Let's go back."

"Of course, Ojou-sama."

Remilia turned back to Reimu and nodded slightly in farewell.

"Bye, Reimu. And I will have to say, nice outfit. The bunny ears suit you," she commented.

Reimu instantly put her hands to her head, but she didn't feel anything there.

"What bunny ears?" Reimu said confused, but the scarlet red vampire and her maid were already walking back to the mansion.

.

.

The battle had lasted far longer than Reimu anticipated, and it ended in an unexpected way. In a flurry of blue and green, both Cirno and Sanae activated their final spellcards, resulting in a spectacular explosion. Unfortunately, both were hit by their combined spells and were knocked out, and they dropped downward towards the lake. Reimu and Daiyousei both burst into action and flew to save them before they hit the water.

When Sanae came to, she found herself in the arms of a very wet Reimu on the picnic blanket. Cirno was similarly cradled in the arms of Daiyousei.

"Did I win?" Sanae said dazedly.

"You both knocked each other out," Reimu stated.

"Darn."

Unlike Sanae, when Cirno woke up, she didn't accept the draw with grace. She started to throw a tantrum, yelling loudly for a rematch and screaming at them to leave. Reimu threatened to exterminate the unruly fairy many times to shut her up, but it didn't seem to stick in her head. Cirno only screamed louder and hoarser. In a last effort, Reimu tried to bribe the fairy with a sandwich. And to her utter dismay, it worked. Cirno begrudgingly took the food, stating that she will overlook their intrusion _only_ for today. However, the blue fairy sat down on the picnic blanket and began eating it, and she refused to budge from her spot despite Reimu's new verbal and physical efforts to push her away. It was only when Daiyousei started to look longingly at her friend that Reimu gave up and let things be as is. She sighed and gave the last sandwich to her to eat as well.

Reimu was certain that this looked like a ridiculous scene; Two mikos in swimwear, on a picnic near the lake, with two fairies eating with them. She quickly looked up and scanned the sky on the chance that an unwanted and nosy crow was watching, but it was clear and devoid of clouds.

The presence of Cirno and Daiyousei with Reimu and Sanae actually had a more significant effect. When the other fairies saw their fellow fairies not being exterminated, they grew a little bolder and started to come out from hiding. Eventually, the lake area was populated by the other fairies again, although they left the two mikos ample space. As soon as they were done eating, Cirno and Daiyousei both flew off to play once again with the other fairies.

Exhausted, Reimu turned towards Sanae to see how she was doing. She saw that the other miko had a very peaceful expression on her face, watching the fairies go to and from different areas of the lake. Sanae suddenly blinked and noticed her lover looking at her. She brightly smiled, and Reimu couldn't help but smile back. She felt the other girl's fingers creep into hers and her body slightly lean against her own. Now much more comfortable, Sanae sighed in content.

It appeared that Sanae was satisfied and done playing in the lake. But she didn't seem to want to move from her place anytime soon. Reimu was fine with it, as she was in no mood to move around either. And so they sat there in silence, watching the fairies play around well after the sun had set and the night had risen.

.

.

 _The Next Morning_

"Eh? The cure is almost done?" Reimu said in surprise. Reisen nodded.

"That was fast," Reimu remarked. There was still another two days until they had to go back to Eintei. The lunar rabbit shrugged.

"Master is a medical genius. She also told me that you should come by tomorrow, as it'll be ready then."

Having delivered the message, Reisen bowed, and then turned to go back to Eintei.

"Ah, thank you," Reimu quickly blurted out, and rabbit took off. Reimu closed the sliding doors and went to sit back down with Sanae. They had been knitting new scarfs for the coming winter when Reisen had knocked on their sliding doors to deliver her message.

"What did she want?" Sanae asked once Reimu was next to her again.

"Um," Reimu said awkwardly. "She said that we need to go to Eintei tomorrow for your, uh, medicine."

Sanae laughed.

"Medicine? But what for? I'm not sick or anything!"

"Er…," Reimu hesitated. Sanae noticed the other girl falter and tilted her head.

"Hmm?"

"…It's just something that will make you healthier," Reimu eventually said. Inside, her heart twinged painfully from the blatant lie.

"Well, alright," Sanae accepted, and she resumed humming as she knitted once again. Reimu also picked up her needle and returned to knitting as well.

But as she worked through the rhythmic weaving of her yarn, Reimu started to feel uneasy. She had thought that it was best not to tell Sanae about her condition, but the sudden visit from Reisen had made her unsure about her decision. Should she have told Sanae that she had lost her common sense at the start? How would green-haired girl have reacted? How would she have _acted_ during the week knowing about it? Would it have or not have made a difference in the end?

All of these thoughts began to affect her knitting, and she soon found herself undoing and redoing many stiches in the same places. Frustrated, Reimu pushed her uneasiness aside and focused on the task before her. In the end, she was grateful that Sanae would be back to normal by tomorrow, and whatever regret she had inside now would not change the past.

.

.

"Mmm!" Sanae leaned back and stretched out her arms over her head. "Oh, that feels good!"

Reimu looked down at her unfinished scarf and thought it didn't look too bad. Well, it had a few strands sticking out in various places. She looked over to see Sanae's and took back her previous assessment. Despite having no common sense, Sanae was still just as deft with craftwork and the alike. Reimu began stretching a little as well, feeling soreness everywhere in her body from sitting too long. She felt Sanae lean on her, still in the satisfied afterglow of her almost completed work. Reimu looked at the digital clock on the table and was shocked to see that it was already near 6:00 p.m. They had somehow managed to skip lunch and continued without a single break during the afternoon. And almost in confirmation, Sanae's stomach rumbled. Reimu gently nudged the other miko away and stood up.

"It's dinner time. What do you want to eat?"

Sanae raised her hand high, as if answering a teacher in class.

"Omurice!" She said.

"Ok," Reimu nodded, and she turned to go make them two dishes of it.

A little after Sanae had come to live permanently at the Hakurei shrine, she taught Reimu how to cook omurice.

 _It's not a hard dish to make, actually_ , Sanae admitted, _Just cook the eggs till they are soft and fluffy, cook the rice like usual, and add as much meat and ketchup as you want to it. Lay the omelette on top of the rice, and then more ketchup on top of it all. Kanako and Suwako used to make for me many times when I was younger._

 _A child's dish,_ Reimu had mused. Sanae blushed red from embarrassment.

 _N-nothing wrong with liking something from your childhood, you know?_ Sanae said timidly. Reimu laughed lightly and kissed Sanae on the cheek.

 _I know._

As she was taking out the rice, a sudden thought occurred to Reimu. The current Sanae more or less had the mentality of a young kid, even though her actions were mature and adult-like. That's why she seemed to be enthusiastic about everything and possessed that child-like energy.

 _Well, she was somewhat like that from before_ , Reimu thought as she began taking out several eggs from the icebox and breaking them into a bowl. As she started to whisk the eggs into a smooth liquid, another thought struck her.

If Sanae was the child, then would that make Reimu the mother?

It was a very odd and startling revelation. She was so used to Sanae being in the mother role, that she couldn't really see herself as one. But she felt weirdly fuzzy and happy inside because of it.

Whatever the case, she needed to concentrate and make dinner. Putting on her apron, the red clothed mother carried her ingredients to the stove and got ready to cook them for her loving daughter.

.

.

"Yay! Itadakimasu!" Sanae clapped her hands excitedly.

"Itadakimasu," Reimu repeated, and she smiled as she watched dig into her plate of omurice.

The sounds of eating and soft blowing gently filled the room. Happy that she was eating her favorite dish, Sanae had almost finished her dinner by the time Reimu had just eaten half of hers. Noticing that Sanae had a bit of rice stuck on her cheek, Reimu reached over, picked it off delicately, and ate it.

"Oh thank you," Sanae said. Realizing what she had just done, Reimu furiously blushed.

"I, I just didn't want to waste food," she stuttered, but Sanae had already returned to eating.

After a few more minutes, Reimu finished, and they both gave their thanks for the food.

"Gochisosama!" Sanae exclaimed. Reimu repeated after her and started to pick up the dishes. Noticing, Sanae picked up her plates and stood up first.

"Ah, let me wash the dishes," Sanae offered. Reimu hesitated. Part of her worried that something would happen.

"Er, sure," She finally relented, and Sanae gleefully moved over to the kitchen area.

Reimu waited for the inevitable sound of breaking dishes, but they never came. Sanae eventually came out more wet than dry, but she looked happy at accomplishing her task.

The miko couple continued to knit for the rest of the night. By the time Reimu looked at the clock again, it was already 11 p.m. However, they had finished creating their new accessories, and two new six foot long scarfs, one woven with red and white patterns and the other with green and blue stars, now rested in front of them. Yawning, Sanae leaned against Reimu.

"Reimu, let's take a bath together," She said.

"Sure," Reimu replied.

They put their knitting supplies back in their drawer and got ready to wash. Like a little kid, Sanae rushed ahead towards their bathroom. By the time Reimu had arrived, the green-haired girl had already changed out of her clothing and started filling the bathtub with water. Reimu changed out of her own clothes, put them in the wooden laundry basket for dirty clothes, and stepped inside the enclosed room.

While they waited for the water to fill the tub, they took turns scrubbing themselves and each other's backs. Fully bubbled up, they rinsed each other off and got into the now full bathtub together. Reimu felt her body instantly relaxed as she touched the warm and comfortable water, and she sighed in relief. Sanae similarly did the same.

For a while, they enjoyed soaking in the water in silence. Reimu leaned back and watched the steam rise up and disappears into the vents above, which opened up to the sky. Most of her worries seemed to melt away.

"Hey, Reimu?"

"Hmm?" Reimu said serenly.

"…It's nothing," Sanae said, and she busied herself by washing down her arms.

They indulged a few more minutes in the bath before exiting it and drying themselves off. Soon enough, though, Reimu was tucking Sanae into their futon. Once satisfied with her task, Reimu got in next to her lover and made herself comfortable. She closed her eyes and let herself slowly sink into a restful unconsciousness. But just as she felt the reigns of sleep take over, she heard Sanae whisper her name.

"Reimu?"

"Mmm?"

"Are you awake?"

"Trying not to be," Reimu faintly heard herself say.

"…What's the real reason we are going to Eintei?"

Startled, Reimu opened her eyes and turned her head towards Sanae, whose green eyes were looking at her in the dim darkness.

"Um, you know, it's to…" Reimu dwindled off, unable to give a good excuse.

"…to help make me 'normal' again?" Sanae said quietly. At that moment, Reimu's heart plummeted.

"…You know about it?" Reimu asked fearfully.

Sanae slowly nodded, her eyes disappearing for a moment.

"I kind of…overheard some things when you were talking with Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama," Sanae confessed, her voice becoming even quieter. She turned to face the ceiling.

"You know what's scary? Not knowing the difference between right or wrong. Everything just feels normal to me."

Sanae paused before continuing.

"I know that what I do is sometimes bad, but I can't seem to stop it. And even now, I think I'm saying things that I shouldn't have. It's like I am in control _and not_ in control."

With apparent sadness, the green-haired girl turned to look back at Reimu.

"I bet I'm causing you a lot of problems because I'm like this. But…you've never brought up my 'problem' to me…only to Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama. And now we have to go back to Eintei tomorrow. It makes me feel…betrayed, because it was like you didn't trust me," Sanae said.

Deeply ashamed and guilty, Reimu shifted over and embraced the other girl.

"I'm really sorry. I should have told you from the start," Reimu said, her tears stinging her eyes. "But it was because of me that you got hurt, and I cannot forgive myself for that."

Reimu felt Sanae's arms gently reach around her.

"I got hurt because I wanted to protect you," Sanae whispered. "Because I love you."

Reimu closed her eyes to stop the inflow of tears now streaming out. She quietly sobbed into Sanae's shoulders as Sanae cooed softly and patted her back in comfort. After some time, Reimu calmed down, and she pulled back a bit to wipe away her tears. But, like the caring mother that she always was, Sanae reached up with her sleeve to clear them away.

"There, there. All better now," Sanae said. As the other miko lightly wiped her face, Reimu reached up to hold it.

"I promise that I won't ever do this again to you," Reimu swore. "And if I do…please be there to stop me."

Sanae faintly smiled.

"Thank you."

With some difficulty, Reimu cleaned off the rest of her tears and shifted back into her normal sleeping position. She felt Sanae's fingers creep into hers, like usual, and she closed her eyes. But sleep would not come so fast, especially not after this small incident. Soon, though, Reimu heard her name being whispered again.

"Reimu?"

"Yes, Sanae?" Reimu replied.

"Please kiss me. You haven't done it since the beginning of this week."

Reimu's heart throbbed guiltily again as she realized that she, indeed, had not kissed Sanae at all since the accident. She propped herself onto one arm to lean over the other girl. She stared into those rich, green eyes for a bit before lowering herself down and then kissing her in total devotion.

"Mmm."

After a few moments, Reimu pulled away, and she saw Sanae smiling peacefully up at her in the darkness.

"Good night, Reimu."

"Good night, Sanae."

.

.

"So, I drink this?" Sanae said, raising the small cup. There was a strangely pulsing purple fluid inside of it. Eirin nodded.

"It will fix whatever needs to be fixed."

Reimu squeezed Sanae's other hand in comfort. Sanae took a deep breath and then drank the medicine. They waited a couple of moments to see if anything changed, but nothing dramatic happened.

"How do you feel?" Reimu finally asked.

"Uhm, normal," Sanae replied. She tried moving her arm up and down. Reimu wracked her head, trying to think of a way to test her common sense, and she suddenly had a good idea.

"Oh, I know. How do you say goodbye to other people?"

Sanae looked confused.

"What do you mean? You can wave or say 'goodbye' to them," she answered. Reimu beamed and hugged the other shrine maiden in relief.

"Yep, she's cured," Reimu said to Eirin, and the lunarian doctor smiled.

"That's great news. There was a 50% chance that the liquid would have made her lose all of her intelligence and senses."

Reimu looked at the Lunar doctor in shock.

"But I thought you were a genius!?"

"I am. But Gensokyo only has so many ingredients before I had to substitute some things in. I only have rabbits to test these medicines on, you know?" She said benignly. Reimu made a mental note to herself to seriously decide if going to her or a human doctor would be more worth it in the end, especially when it comes to Sanae.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone for a bit. After you are done, Reimu, please see me about the payment," Eirin said, and she walked out of the wardroom that they were in to give the couple some privacy.

"So, do you remember, uh, everything that happened?" Reimu tentatively asked. Sanae nodded.

"Pretty much," she said, and then she blushed. "But I kind of wished I didn't."

Reimu pulled Sanae into another hug and kiss.

"As long as I am by your side, it's fine."

"Thank you."

.

.

"W-What is this?" Reimu stammered out. Eirin smiled knowingly.

"It's part of your payment, of course."

"But-"

"No buts, Reimu. Reisen and I spent quite a bit of time on this, and it would be a shame if it weren't put to its intended use. Now, please change into it in the room next to you."

Reimu looked at the room and then back at Eirin. She gulped and went inside to put on her "payment."

When Reimu came out again, she was wearing a specially made bunny girl outfit. It had the signature bunny ears sticking up and was colored a deep and rich pink. It even had shrine maiden arm sleeves (although shorter) that were specially tailored for Reimu. Sanae gasped and clapped her hands in delight. Reimu tried to cover as much of herself as she could.

"You look amazing, Reimu!"

Before the embarrassed red bunny girl could reply, Eirin stepped forward.

"Now, your full payment will be to work one day as our special bunny shrine maiden maid," she said officially.

"W-WHAT!? That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard since-" Reimu exclaimed, but then Sanae cut her off.

"Would it be possible for me to work with Reimu in one of those outfits?"

Eirin didn't even bat an eye.

"Of course! We also had one made just for you."

Reimu looked at the green-haired girl in confusion.

"Um, Sanae? I thought you were cured?"

Sanae beamed and wrapped an arm around Reimu's arm.

"Maybe. Or maybe not! But it'll be fun, right?"

Reimu could only groan.

.

.

.

.

A/U: Hello, it's Kali Shima.

So sorry for the very, very late publish. I had this idea swimming in my head, and then, before I knew it, it became 7k+ words.

But it is here!


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Ribbit, ribbit."

 _Gurgle. Croak. Ribbit?_

Suwako Moriya tilted her head and ribbited a few more times. She smiled as she was met with a chorus of croaks and ribbits, their owners overjoyed that their froggy goddess had finally visited them since forever, and on a wet and rainy day. Green and brown bodies of all sizes and age appeared all around her, previously hidden underwater or under the green plants around Moriya Shrine's pond. They jumped, moved, and swam over to where she stood near the pond's edge, eager to hear from her. After adjusting her large, brown hat to fend off more of the rain, Suwako squatted down in a frog-like position and began talking a series of ribbits and croaks.

For a while, she chatted with her rubbery friends, catching them up on what had been happening lately around the Moriya Shrine. The tengu and wolf youkai still fought each other, although it seemed to lessen in the past month. More and more humans were going to their shrine and increasing their faith. The kappas were making crazier and crazier inventions, and some of them had been donated to their shrine. Of course, she left the juiciest of Gensokyian gossip for last.

With a large smile on her face, Suwako recounted the tale of how a certain green-haired girl fell in love with the red miko of Gensokyo. It had been a very messy beginning, starting with them moving to Gensokyo. The girl cried when they had finally left their original home, and she secretly cried in her room when they finally arrived and had settled in. To take her mind off of things, one of the Moriya Goddesses suggested that the young girl become acquainted with the inhabitants of their new home and spread their new faith.

That had proved to be a mistake on her part.

Long story short, the girl was beaten up by the miko at their very first meeting, and then the two Goddesses were beaten up once she found out about them. But things somehow turned out well in the end, and now their shrines tolerated the other (although begrudgingly by the red miko). To get on the better side of her, the green-haired girl was sent on a few incidents to assist the quick-to-anger red shrine maiden.

As the girl spent more and more time with her, she slowly became infatuated. Sure, for a while they had fought long and often whenever they met. But her loneliness eventually faded away, only for it to be replaced by yearning. She lost focus in her work, staring off in the distance sometimes and forgetting what she was doing. Her two goddesses became concerned after a while, and they sought to help her (well, at least she did. Kanako had been in that don't-touch-my-daughter phase, but she was empathetic enough). Soon, they saw what the cause of the girl's worry was, and they saw that this was good thing. They gave her advice and many hugs, comforting and supporting her through and through this difficult period. Finally, the girl became courageous, and she confessed her love to the red shrine maiden.

The green-haired girl was somewhat afraid of what the other girl would say. Would she be turned down? Or would she be ignored? Would her friendship turn for the better or worse? But as it turned out, her feelings were mutual. The red shrine maiden had also fallen in love with her, expressing the same yearnings and longings that she had. On that special day, they professed their love to one another and kissed. And now they lived happily together at the Hakurei Shrine.

Suwako shifted a little in place and looked around her. The frogs, toads, and tadpoles were silent, stunned in awe of her narration. She smiled a little inside. She, of course, had missed having Sanae at their shrine at the start of her new relationship. It felt like a part of her family was gone, and it was just her and Kanako. But she was happy that Sanae had found love, even if it meant that she wanted to be with Reimu.

" _Wow_ ," a female frog finally croaked on her left, breaking the silence of the pond.

" _Tell us another story about them!_ " one of the tadpoles bubbled in excitement. The other amphibians took up the call.

" _Story!_ "

" _Yes! Tell us another story!_ "

Suwako grinned as the chorus of ribbits grew louder. She held up both hands to quiet them, and soon the noise died down. Like a mother entertaining her children, she leaned forward and put on a deep and mysterious voice.

"Ok, here's one. This actually happened a few years ago, before Sanae fell in love…"

…

…

It was a quiet and peaceful Winter day at the Hakurei Shrine, the home of the infamous Shrine Maiden of Paradise. Inside the home, Reimu Hakurei was sitting at her kotatsu, nodding off in light of the comforting warmth. Outside, the snow gently fell onto the ground, steadily piling up in rough and uneven layers.

Indeed, it was a very peaceful-

 _*SLAM*_

"Reimu Hakurei!"

The dozing girl suddenly jolted up in attention at the mention of her name. But as she did so, her knees crashed against the kotatsu's table when she stood up.

 _*CRASH*_

"Ahhhh!" Reimu cried out in pain and fell back down in her seat. Her knees throbbed in pain and she instinctively put her hands on them. She leaned forward to ease the pain and slightly moaned.

"Reimu! Have you seen the state of your shrine!?" The voice said again, not caring one bit about the fallen girl's predicament. "The front of it is covered in snow!"

Gritting her teeth, Reimu looked up to glare at the intruder. Sanae Kochiya, the rival shrine maiden from Moriya Shrine on Youkai Mountain, had slammed the front sliding doors open. She wore a slightly modified version of her traditional blue and white shrine maiden clothing, with the sleeves fully covering her armpits. She also had a long, blue scarf with the same design patterns on her shrine skirt wrapped around her neck. With both hands on her hip, she glared down at her fellow miko with a deep frown on her face. She stomped her foot down in apparent anger.

"This isn't how a respectable shrine maiden should act!"

Reimu wasn't quite done nursing her knees, but she was attentive enough to reply back.

"It's literally the first day of Winter. At least let me be for one day," Reimu said weakly. "Besides, no one ever comes here besides you, Marisa, and the youkai."

Sanae crossed her arms and stomped her foot again.

"That isn't an excuse! It's the duty required of us shrine maidens. You have to maintain the appearance of a shrine every day, whether that be sweeping the grounds, giving offerings, or shoveling way the snow that's piling outside of your home! If you stop doing it, the kami will not like it and might even curse you."

"Well, nothing has happened to me so far," Reimu retorted. "And like it or not, this is _my shrine_. I do whatever I want with it, regardless of what you say."

The two girls continued to glare at each other for what seemed like an eternity. But finally, Sanae broke eye contact and looked elsewhere to vent her frustration on. Reimu harrumphed and turned her body away so she wouldn't see Sanae anymore either. The heavy silence in the room compounded. Finally, she heard Sanae sigh heavily from her side and a little rustle of clothing, indicating that she had dropped her arms down.

"L-look," Sanae wearily said. "As my senior-in-shrine-maiden, I just want you to be successful, whatever that means to you. And I want you to be happy about it."

Reimu murmured some unintelligible words under her breath. Sanae looked back at her, uneasy and unsure of what to do. The silence in the room grew again as the green-haired girl stood there in the doorway watching the other girl. She shivered as a small gust of wind blew past her.

"Close the door," Reimu said tersely.

Sanae complied and shut the front sliding doors, thankfully with a little more respect and grace. She took off her shoes, set them off to the side, and tentatively sat next to the table edge closest to her. After a few moments, Reimu sighed and turned around to face Sanae.

"Do you want tea?"

The other miko's eyebrows raised in surprised. She had thought that the red miko would be still be angry at her.

"Y-yes please," she stated meekly.

Reimu nodded, and soon, two cups of steaming hot tea and a large teapot rested between them on the table. Sanae moved to pick up her cup of tea, but she yelped as her hand brushed against the hot surface of the cup. She looked at Reimu, who was calmly sipping hers.

"Something wrong?" She said, almost a little too sweetly.

"N-no," Sanae replied shakily. Evidently, the red miko _was_ still mad at her.

Trembling a little, Sanae picked up the unbearably hot cup and drank a small mouthful. She sputtered and coughed as the scalding tea went down her throat.

"So, what brought you here today?" Reimu asked.

Relief that she didn't have to drink any more tea yet, Sanae put down her cup. She held her hands in her lap as a smile crept onto her face.

"Do you know what Christmas is?"

Reimu warily nodded. Marisa told her once that Christmas was about getting gifts from other people. Or in her case, stealing. But when she asked the were-hakutaku/resident historian, Keine Kamishirasawa, about it, she descended into a long lecture about religion and how it was about some guy's birthday. So she never quite understood the point of it or why they celebrated it even though he was dead (Not that she wasn't grateful. Marisa always spent the whole day with her, and they ate a larger-than-normal hotpot for dinner). Sanae's smile got bigger when she saw the other girl nod.

"Kanako-sama, Suwako-sama, and I had a talk together, and we would like for you to join us for Christmas this year!"

"Huh?" Reimu said ineloquently after a few moments. "Why?"

Sanae looked down sheepishly.

"Well, it's because all we do whenever we meet is argue with each other. Kanako-sama didn't like that, so she was hoping that we, meaning all of us at the shrine, could improve our relationship with you."

Reimu thought for a bit. She didn't disagree that she and Sanae fought a lot, both verbally and in danmaku. Although it was Sanae who started the arguments…mostly.

More importantly, though, she was surprised that the Moriya Shrine goddesses had formally invited her. She had never been on good terms with them, probably ever since she first sent Sanae packing (again, her fault for starting it). At best, it was a cool and distant relationship between their shrines. Reimu couldn't help but wonder if there was some ulterior motive behind it. Kanako, for sure, had been involved in several of the incidents and events in Gensokyo. Yet Sanae's excitement seemed genuine.

Reimu sighed internally, knowing that her answer would hurt the other miko.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. Marisa usually spends Christmas with me," Reimu answered.

Sanae visibly deflated, but she soon brushed off her disappointment.

"Oh, alright. The offer is still up, though, even after Christmas passes."

"I'll keep that in mind," Reimu responded.

Sanae nodded, happy enough that her message was received. She took another sip from her cup of tea, and she stuck her tongue out in slight pain.

Sanae left half an hour after her initial appearance, stating that she had a few errands to do. This had left Reimu once again in a state of blissful and sleepy laziness, and she didn't move from her spot till her stomach demanded dinner. The thought of Christmas didn't come to Reimu's mind again till she had turned in for the night. As she was pulling the futon's cover over herself, she recalled the event being a few days after the first day of Winter. Which would explain why Sanae had come in today and invited her. Now comfortable under her futon's covers, Reimu closed her eyes and let the darkness take over.

.

.

The next few days passed by in a rather sluggish but eventful manner. The day after Sanae's invitation saw Reimu clearing the snow around the shrine. Because she had let the snow pile up to nearly her upper thighs, it took her nearly an hour to clear up even a decent path to her donation box. As she shoveled the offending piles of white to the side, she begrudgingly conceded that Sanae was right about maintaining the shrine every day. It took her twice as long to clear away the snow, but the hot tea and manjuu she prepared afterwards made it somewhat worth the tiring ordeal.

Much to Reimu's further chagrin, the fairies that hanged around the Hakurei Shrine became rowdy with the onset of Winter. The three fairies, Sunny Milk, Luna Child, and Star Sapphire, pranked her at least once a day by dropping snow on her, blinding her with light reflected off the white snow, or running off with her broom and shovels when she wasn't looking. Even the ice fairy, Cirno, wanted to boast about herself and challenged Reimu to an all snow and ice danmaku battle. Or a snowball fight.

Needless to say, she was swiftly beaten in less than ten seconds and kicked off the shrine grounds.

Surprisingly enough, though, a few of the inhabitants from the human village made an effort to travel up the snow laden route up to her shrine. In previous years, many of them avoided the place because of the youkai constantly hovering around it, despite it being a youkai-exterminating shrine. Now, after having solved many of the incidents in Gensokyo, it seemed that some people wanted to thank Reimu in some way. One day, while Reimu was busy shoveling the snow around the veranda, she heard the rare sounds of human boots walking across the snow. A few words were exchanged, and something heavy was placed down. Short prayers were whispered, and the sounds of fast, fading crunching told Reimu that the owners had walked back across the shrine grounds and down the steps. Putting her shovel against the wall, she went around the corner to find a large, cloth-wrapped box sitting on the donation box.

The cautious girl looked around her and saw two different sized pairs of footprints walking to and from the shrine. She surmised that a parent and a child had come and deposited something that …couldn't fit in the donation box, at least. She turned back to the box and brought it inside the shrine.

The present turned out to be a large assortment of meats encased within ice, desserts like yokan, and two bottles of sake. A small notecard rested on top of the inviting pile, which read:

 _You aren't appreciated enough for all the work you do, Reimu Hakurei. So my family and I put together a gift for the Winter season._

 _Happy holidays!_

There was no name appended to the greeting, but a smaller thank you was written in a child's handwriting below it. Reimu supposed that they wanted to remain unknown for whatever reason.

In all, the days leading up to Christmas were eventful.

.

.

"Mmm."

Reimu rustled in her futon and blearily cracked one eye open. Dim sunlight hit her face, and she instantly squeezed her eye shut. Turning over a little, she peeked again and saw that her clock read 7:49 a.m. She shivered as the cold parts of the futon brushed against her, and she curled up to preserve what warmth she had.

 _A few more minutes, then I'll get up_ , she thought to herself, already slipping back into unconsciousness. When she woke up again, it was already 9 a.m.

She groaned but got up all the same. After going through the motions of brushing her teeth and washing her face, she was now busy tying up her hair with a red hair ribbon.

 _It's Christmas,_ she idly mulled as she pulled on each of the ribbon's ends, tightening it. Her hands froze as she finished tying the fluffy cloth.

 _It's Christmas!_ She said to herself again, and a small smile crept onto her face.

Normally, she wouldn't have been so excited, especially not in cold mornings. Blame Sanae for it, if you will; because of her, Reimu had been subconsciously anticipating this day. It just felt much more special and appealing to her now.

Dropping her hands, she turned around to walk back to her room to change, humming a little. Her cheerful mood didn't dissipate for the rest of the morning, even when she had to clear away the snow that had densely fallen overnight. The thought of Christmas and Marisa fueled her. But, for some reason, the witch had not appeared yet. Usually she arrived at the Hakurei Shrine in the morning. Reimu presumed that her friend had been held up by something and would come later. Shrugging off her concern, she continued to shovel away happily. By the time she finished, it was already near lunchtime. Taking one last look towards the sky, she leaned her shovel against the wall of the shrine and went inside to have a meal.

An hour and a meal of double boiled chicken in soup later, and Reimu was resting at her warm kotatsu, content and with a full stomach. A large teapot and two empty teacups laid on the table. Pouring herself a steaming hot cup of tea, Reimu waited for her friend to show up, anticipating and watching the slightly open doors in front of her.

But still, no black and white witch on a broomstick appeared. As the sun crossed the sky and dipped lower and lower, Reimu's heart fell deeper. It wasn't until the sun had disappeared below the Youkai Mountains and the first stars started to appear that Reimu accepted the impossible: Marisa wouldn't be coming.

Reimu forced herself up, feeling the dull soreness in her body for sitting too long in one place. The teapot had long lost its warmth, and she could feel the coldness in and outside of her body. She slowly walked over to the sliding doors and closed them. After thinking for a moment, she straightened up and headed towards the kitchen. She came out with several bottles of sake and slammed them on the table. With a determined look on her face, she pried one bottle of the succulent liquid open and prepared to drink herself into oblivion and forget about this awful day. But as she lifted the bottle to her lips, she heard light knocking against the wooden frame of her living room.

If it had been Marisa, she would've opened the doors with a bang and announced her presence right then and there. Frowning a little at who it could be, she lowered the bottle and walked over to the sliding doors. She opened them and saw Sanae standing in front of her. She wore a thick, wooly coat over herself, and two of her hands were behind her.

"H-hi," she said meekly.

"Uh, hello," Reimu replied back.

An awkward silence descended as they stood there in place looking at each other.

"Am I intruding?" Sanae finally asked. Reimu noticed that green-haired miko was staring at her hands. She looked down and saw that she was still holding the sake bottle. She quickly hid it behind her as a light, embarrassed blush appeared on her face.

"Er no," Reimu said quickly.

Sanae nodded, and she brought out a large bundle from behind her.

"Merry Christmas!" Sanae brightly cheered. "This is for you. "

Reimu looked at her slightly stunned. Putting her bottle down, she reached out and took the Christmas gift.

"Thank you," she said, remembering to speak.

The smiled on Sanae's face became bigger, and then she bowed slightly.

"You're welcome. Kanako-sama also wanted to remind you that you are welcome to visit our shrine anytime."

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," Sanae said, and she straightened up.

As Reimu watched Sanae turn around to go, the uneasy feeling she had during the afternoon returned. Small pangs started to pound in Reimu's heart, and she realized she would be alone again.

"Uh, wait," Reimu called out before she could stop herself.

Sanae looked back at the other miko. Reimu felt a lump come up in her throat, and she swallowed a little. It wouldn't hurt her to change things a little. Just for today, at least.

"Can I…come by right now?" Reimu tentatively asked.

It was Sanae's turn to look surprised, but she quickly recovered.

"Of course," she replied with a little twinkle in her eyes.

Unseen relief flooded into Reimu, and she went inside to put away the gift and sake bottles and put on something slightly warmer to travel in. Two minutes later, she returned to where Sanae was standing with a long and warm scarf. The green-haired was blowing hot air over her hands, but she dropped them when Reimu came out again.

"You ready?" Sanae inquired.

Reimu nodded, and together, they took off and flew towards Moriya Shrine. The cold wind bit at Reimu and threatened to freeze every part of her. But she flew on in anticipation and a little trepidation of the next few hours.

…

…

Suwako's voice dwindled off again, and she leaned back in retrospection.

" _And?_ " The same, curious tadpole which had spoken up earlier prompted.

Suwako's smile grew on her face. The tadpoles were always the curious ones.

"Reimu had a fun time at our Christmas party. But I don't think it mattered if she had decided to stay home. Kanako brought out our own sake, and both she and Reimu decided to see who was the better drinker of them."

At this the froggy goddess laughed.

"They were moaning in bed for pretty much the whole day after."

"Kanako-sama and Suwako-sama, we're here!" A voice suddenly called out.

Suwako briefly looked behind her and then back to her amphibious audience.

"Well, looks like that's all I have for now," she said apologetically, and she stood up carefully.

 _"Wait,_ _is that Sanae?_ " A frog squeaked out. " _I would love to meet her_."

" _Me too_!"

" _Yea_!"

Suwako laughed as the chorus of ribbits and bubbles started up again, and she put her hands up for the second time that day.

"Alright, you pushy lot! You'll get to meet _both of them_."

" _Hooray_!"

.

.


End file.
